Mexican patients with lymphoma or leukemia could increase their life expectancy with the help of new drugs, which are designed to treat cancers of the blood and bone marrow, as they potentiate effects over a longer time.
Under the 56th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Jorge Vela Ojeda, head of Blood Services at the Highly Specialized Medicine Unit (UMAE) from the National Medical Center ‘La Raza’ of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), said the eventual approval of these drugs by the health authorities would be an event of great importance.
The IMSS specialist said that, although the current drugs are functional, new generation drugs are more potent and act with a more lasting effect.
He added that the organization’s research protocols have become a trusted resource for patients to have access to new treatments and medical formulas.
He also stated the need to streamline mechanisms, so these products can reach patients before generating greater resistance to them, as the costs of medicines and studies necessary for diagnosis and treatment are very high.
He stressed that due to the high cost of medicines and studies needed for diagnosis and treatment, it is necessary to streamline mechanisms for new products to reach patients before they become more resistant.
Currently, IMSS has the ability to conduct studies for the diagnosis of blood diseases, of which 85 percent are cancer.
The specialist explained that blood cancers evolve rapidly, so timely care is very important for patients who have symptoms, such as anemia, fatigue, bleeding and bruising that persist for longer than two weeks. He also said that although the major cancers in the country are breast and cervical in women and prostate cancer in men, followed by lung, gastrointestinal tract and colon, blood cancers occur recurrently.
Among blood cancers, the most typical is lymphoma, which incidence has increased and tends to affect cells that constitute the immune system (lymphocytes), being able to spread to the lymph nodes. Lymphoma develops when there is a failure in the white blood cells function, which helps fight infection.
Vela Ojeda said that carcinogenic lymphocytes can develop in various parts of the body besides the bone marrow, blood and other organs. He added that there are two types of lymphoma, non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin, the first with derivations of B or T lymphocytes found in white blood cells.
The expert noted that the lymphatic system is a fundamental in the body’s defense system, either for facing infections or against some cancers. The origin of lymphoma is unknown, but has been associated with some viruses and bacteria.
The most common symptoms that manifest the disease are: lumps in the neck, armpit or groins; also fever, extreme night sweats, weight loss without being in a low caloric diet, fatigue and reddish skin spots.
Through: Notimex
