Treatment of Leukaemia is:-

AIIMS Manglagiri NO - 2019

Medical & Surgical Nursing

Easy

Appeared in: AIIMS Manglagiri NO - 2019

Explanation

Chemotherapy is the cornerstone of treatment for most types of leukemia, a systemic cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
It involves using cytotoxic drugs that circulate throughout the body to kill or inhibit the proliferation of rapidly dividing cancer cells.
Treatment protocols often involve multiple drugs and are administered in phases: induction to achieve remission, consolidation to eliminate residual disease, and maintenance to prevent relapse (SRC_17886).
The specific chemotherapy regimen is tailored to the type of leukemia (e.g., Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia vs. Acute Myeloid Leukemia) and patient-specific factors (SRC_17887, SRC_17888).

Option A: Blood transfusion is a supportive measure, not a curative treatment. It addresses the symptoms of leukemia (like anemia and thrombocytopenia) but does not target the underlying cancer cells.
Option B: Ergot therapy is completely unrelated to the treatment of leukemia. Ergot alkaloids are used for conditions like migraines and to control uterine bleeding after childbirth.
Option C: Surgery is not a primary treatment for leukemia because it is a 'liquid' or systemic cancer, affecting the blood and bone marrow. There is no single tumor to remove.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing Primary treatment modality for leukemia helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
Nurses are central to managing patients undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. Key responsibilities include safe administration of cytotoxic drugs, monitoring for and managing severe side effects like myelosuppression (neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia), and preventing life-threatening infections.
Patient education is a critical nursing role, focusing on infection prevention (neutropenic precautions), recognizing signs of bleeding, managing nausea/vomiting, and providing psychosocial support throughout the arduous treatment journey (SRC_17886).
What if? If a patient has Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) with the Philadelphia chromosome, the first-line treatment is not traditional chemotherapy but a targeted therapy drug called a Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI), such as Imatinib (SRC_17887). This highlights the importance of molecular testing in guiding cancer treatment.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core of the question, which asks for the primary treatment of leukemia.
Recall the pathophysiology of leukemia: it is a cancer of the blood-forming tissues, making it a systemic (body-wide) disease rather than a localized one.
Evaluate each option based on this understanding. Surgery is used for localized, solid tumors, so it is an unlikely choice for a systemic blood cancer.
Differentiate between primary treatment and supportive care. Blood transfusions replace blood components but do not treat the cancer itself, classifying it as supportive care.
Eliminate options that are clearly for unrelated conditions. Ergot therapy is used in obstetrics and for migraines, making it irrelevant.
Conclude that chemotherapy, which uses drugs to target cancer cells throughout the body, is the most logical and standard primary treatment for a systemic disease like leukemia.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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