Leukemia is a type of cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow. Cord blood stem cell treatment for childhood leukaemia is being investigated by medical experts.

What is childhood leukemia?

Leukemia develops when blood cells produced in the bone marrow grow out of control. From the bone marrow, the disease quickly spreads to the blood and from the blood it can spread to other parts of the body.

Types of leukemia in children

• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) affects the blood cells and the immune system. This is the most common leukemia in children.
• Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) affects the blood cells that are not fully developed and disturbs them from performing their normal functions.
• Hybrid or Mixed Lineage Leukemia is a rare type of cancer that has the features of both ALL and AML.
• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is rare in children.
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is almost never seen in children.
• Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML) is a rare type of leukemia that affects children under age 4. Symptoms include pale skin, fever, cough, easy bruising or bleeding and breathing difficulties due to too many white blood cells in the lungs.

How is childhood leukemia treated?

Leukemia in children is treated with drugs, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. However, the main treatment for childhood leukemia is chemotherapy combined with stem cell transplant. Chemotherapy destroys the bone marrow that produces new blood cells and poses a threat to the child’s life. So stem cell transplant is used to replace the bone marrow.

Sources of stem cells for transplant

• Bone marrow
• Bloodstream
• Cord blood

Which source is best for stem cell transplant?

Not all children (even adults) who need stem cell transplant can find well-matched donors to source stem cells from their bone marrow or bloodstream. Hence umbilical cord blood is the best source of stem cells.

Advantages of cord blood stem cells

• Studies suggest that cord blood doesn’t have to be as closely matched as bone marrow or blood. This is an advantage for patients with rare tissue types.
• It is readily available for patients who cannot afford to delay the transplant as it could cost their lives.
• Cord blood stem cell transplant does not require a separate donation procedure.
• Using cord blood stem cells for transplant reduces the risk of infectious diseases in patients.
• The time taken to find a donor or to collect samples from the public cord blood bank can be saved tremendously at a life threatening stage of leukemia when the family has banked their children’s cord blood.

Recent advancement in cord blood stem cell treatment for childhood leukaemia

Researchers have advanced the usage of stem cells for transplant by expanding their numbers to help patients recover soon after a transplant. This offers great hope to leukemia patients including adults in need of intensive treatment.

Recent studies show that scientists have discovered a way to expand cord blood stem cells by manipulating a pathway in the cells. During a clinical trial, high-risk leukemia patients were administered with the cells and the results were very promising. It took only 14 days for the expanded stem cells to develop new blood cells, compared to 4 weeks using cells that had not been expanded.

Though the technique is subject to further trials, researchers say that they are certain about finding the best possible way to use cord blood stem cell treatment for childhood leukaemia patients.

References
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemiainchildren/index
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20100119/stem-cell-leukemia-treatment-improved