Oncology

Question 1

Leukemia: types, presentation

Answer 1

Malignancy (blasts) of blood-forming tissue; blasts unable to mature > cause overgrowth in marrow + reduce space for normal cells to grow > spread beyond marrow > accumulation
Types: acute lymphoblastic (ALL), acute myelocytic (AML)
– ALL: 75% incidence, highly responsive to chemo, +95% achieve remission, high survival, common in CNS + testes, 2-3 yr of tx
– AML: 25% incidence, aggressive, survival for less than 1/2, tx for 6 mo + bone marrow transplant
Presentation: fever, fatigue, bleeding, bone pain, hepatosplenomegaly, WBC changes, low Hgb, low plt, infection

Question 2

Lymphoma: types, s/s

Answer 2

Malignancies of the lymphatic system and spleen
Types: Hodgskin’s, non-Hodgkin’s
– H: +5 yrs, painless adenopathy, fevers, weight loss, night sweat
– NH: <15 yr, mediastinal/abdominal masses