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Expert Leukemia Cancer Care Close to Home

Leukemia Cancer Treatment

Find leading, compassionate care for Leukemia & MDS.

If you’ve been diagnosed with a form of Leukemia or MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome), you’ll want access to the most advanced diagnostic tools and blood cancer treatments available. At Novant Health Cancer Institute you’ll find compassionate, highly skilled providers who have devoted their careers to providing you with remarkable oncology and hematology care. Receive wholistic care from a team focused on helping you manage symptoms and live your life as fully as possible.

What is Leukemia?

Leukemia develops when white blood cells mutate into cancerous cells. These cells multiply and disrupt development and growth of your healthy blood cells. Some blood cancers progress slowly over time while others can grow very rapidly. Your dedicated care team will develop a personalized treatment plan based on your type and stage of blood cancer.

What to expect with your leukemia treatment

When you receive treatment at our hematology and cellular therapy program you have access to a team of highly trained and experienced leukemia specialists. Our experts use the latest and most effective diagnostic procedures and treatments to deliver leading care.

Our multidisciplinary team of physicians work together and meet routinely to discuss your condition and develop the most appropriate treatment plans based on your overall health and treatment goals. We also offer clinical trials, giving you access to new treatments that may not be available elsewhere.

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Common Types of Leukemia

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)

Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) occurs when your body makes too many lymphocytes. These lymphocytes, called blasts, can live in your bone marrow, lymph nodes and spleen. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia accounts for 20% of acute leukemia in adults. The term acute means it usually develops quickly with symptoms showing up within days or weeks.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia symptoms

Low immunity
Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Easy bleeding and/or bruising
Pain in your bones
Enlarged lymph nodes

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia treatment

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is usually first suspected when blasts appear in the blood and then is confirmed by biopsy of the bone marrow. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia treatment depends on the patient’s age, overall health and test results. Standard treatment includes chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy and sometimes a blood or marrow transplant.

If you are diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and also have the Philadelphia Chromosome, you will receive one of these targeted agents in combination with chemotherapy or alone following transplant.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is the most common type of leukemia in adults. Acute Myeloid Leukemia often develops quickly with symptoms usually showing within days or weeks. You typically will have low levels of healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Acute Myeloid Leukemia is diagnosed through bone marrow biopsy. If you are diagnosed with AML, you will be treated as soon as possible with a plan based on your overall health, age and test results.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia symptoms

Low immunity
Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Bleeding and/or bruising

Acute Myeloid Leukemia treatment

Chemotherapy is frequently used to treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia sometimes followed by a blood or marrow transplant. If you are not a candidate for chemotherapy due to other health problems, we’ll use drugs called Hypomethylating Agents.

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) is a unique type of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) due to a cell called promyelocytes in the bone marrow and blood. While you may have severe bleeding when diagnosed, the survival rate is generally high.

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia symptoms

• Fatigue and shortness of breath during normal physical activities
• Weakness
• Lightheadedness, dizziness or faintness
• Frequent infections
• Fever
• Unexplained weight loss
• Discomfort in bones or joints
• Fullness or swelling in the abdomen, due to an enlarged spleen or liver
• Easy bruising or bleeding
• Pinhead-sized red spots on the skin, called “petechiae”
• Frequent or severe nosebleeds
• Bleeding gums

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia treatment

Your treatment will include a vitamin A derivative called all trans retinoic acid and arsenic, with or without chemotherapy.

Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN)

Blastic Plasmocytic Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare form of acute leukemia. A subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), BPDCN stems from an abnormal growth of the plasmacytoid dendritic cells, which interferes with your body’s immune system function properly.

Novant Health Cancer Institute has a specialized center for researching, diagnosing and treating BPDCN. Members of the Novant Health team were the first in the world to conduct human tests of a new therapy approved by the FDA to treat BPDCN. Some of these new therapies stimulate your immune system to directly attack the cancer, others target pathways that control cell growth. We continue to advance the field by offering new clinical trials to better target the disease.

Blastic Plasmocytic Dendritic Cell Neoplasm symptoms

BPDCN is often diagnosed in your 60s and 70s and is more common among men. You may first notice a swollen lymph node, but you are more likely to first discover it from a rash on your skin. Symptoms include:

• Easy bruising and bleeding
• Persistent fatigue and shortness of breath
• Unexplained fevers
• Infections
• Skin lesions
• Severe night sweats

Treatments for Blastic Plasmocytic Dendritic Cell Neoplasm

Because it is a rare type of cancer, diagnosing BPDCN can be challenging. To determine the location and phase of your cancer, you may undergo a CAT scan or PET scan, bone marrow biopsy or a skin lesion biopsy. You may also meet with a genetic counselor to help us refine your treatment options.

Your multidisciplinary team will review your results and then work closely with you to develop an individual treatment plan that may include:

Newly approved targeted immunotherapies
Investigational approaches such as CAR-T therapy and new oral agents
Stem cell transplant from a donor (potentially curative)

What is Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)?

Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) occurs when immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature or become healthy blood cells. An inadequate production of blood cells leads to a low number of white blood cells, red blood cells and/or platelets. Those at risk factors are typically over the age of 65, have had prior exposure to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or have been exposed to certain chemicals such as benzene.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) symptoms

• Fatigue
• Poor energy
• Shortness of breath
• Infections
• Easy bruising or bleeding

Treatments for Myelodysplastic Syndrome

To diagnose Myelodysplastic Syndrome and determine the best treatment, you’ll undergo bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. Your treatment plan will depend on several factors including your symptoms, age and the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) disease risk score based on your biopsy.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome treatments may include:

Dynamic observation or “watch and wait” through blood count monitoring.
Supportive care with growth factors to stimulate blood cell growth and/or red blood cell and platelet transfusions.
Drugs called hypomethylating agents, which are some of the first targeted therapies for this disease that replace traditional chemotherapy approaches of the past.
Immunosuppressive therapy and immunotherapy, which harness the power of your own immune system to attack the cancer
Chemotherapy, which is used when there is a higher blast count, similar to acute leukemia, to kill rapidly dividing cells.
A blood or marrow stem cell transplant from a donor, the only known cure for Myelodysplastic Syndrome. Your bone marrow is replaced with healthy blood stem cells from a donor.

Who treats leukemia & MDS?

Your team of specialists will use their years of experience along with the most advanced diagnostic and cancer-fighting tools available to deliver the quality care you deserve. This multidisciplinary team meets weekly to review your treatment options and progress, and typically includes members with expertise in:

Medical oncology
Radiation oncology
PathologyMental health
Nutrition
Symptom management
Cellular immunotherapy
Stem cell transplantation

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Experience the Future of Cancer Care, Today.

Novant Health is one of the first cancer centers in the Carolinas to Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. TIL is a new, FDA-approved treatment that uses naturally occurring immune cells to help you fight melanoma when other treatments haven’t worked.

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