Childhood tumor

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment plan: Newly diagnosed pediatric ALL patients usually receive chemotherapy, which is divided into three stages. Targeted therapy can also be used based on the characteristics of the patient's cancer. If cancer recurs or treatment is ineffective, patients may receive stem cell transplantation. Young patients under the age of 25 may be eligible for CAR-T cell therapy if they are not successfully treated with other therapies. Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells, control their growth, or alleviate disease-related symptoms. Chemotherapy may involve a single drug or a combination of two or more drugs, depending on the type of cancer and how it rapidly grows. The chemotherapy of ALL is usually carried out in multiple stages. The first is induction. This is a high-intensity treatment stage aimed at killing leukemia cells in the blood and bone marrow. Hospitalization is usually required for treatment. The goal is to alleviate cancer. After induction, there are three to four stages aimed at killing any cancer cells that survive after induction. These stages include consolidation, temporary maintenance, delayed reinforcement, and temporary maintenance II. Maintenance should be carried out after these stages of treatment. During the maintenance phase, patients receive lower doses of chemotherapy to prevent cancer recurrence. ALL patients undergo maintenance chemotherapy for approximately one and a half years. Patients can also undergo low-dose chemotherapy in the central nervous system through lumbar puncture to prevent the tumor from spreading to this area. Stem cell transplant patients can also receive chemotherapy to prepare for surgery. The purpose of targeted therapy drugs is to prevent or slow down the growth or spread of cancer. This occurs at the cellular level. Cancer cells require specific molecules (usually in the form of proteins) to survive, reproduce, and spread. These molecules are usually produced by the genes that cause cancer and the cells themselves. Targeted therapy aims to interfere with or target these molecules or the oncogenes that produce them. Stem cell transplantation (also known as bone marrow transplantation) is a process of replacing cancerous bone marrow with new, healthy bone marrow stem cells. Stem cell transplantation is usually performed after a round of intense chemotherapy, which kills the patient's existing bone marrow cells and prepares them for transplantation. Patients usually have to be hospitalized for three to four weeks after surgery. Patients with leukemia recurrence or ineffective standard treatment may require stem cell transplantation. If the patient has high-risk leukemia and standard treatment is unlikely to cure, this method can also be recommended. This type of treatment may be challenging for the body, so it is usually not suitable for older or other unhealthy patients. Radiation therapy uses powerful energy beams to kill cancer cells. Due to the fact that leukemia cells move in the bloodstream, radiation therapy does not specifically target tumors. On the contrary, radiation therapy can be used when the disease has spread to the central nervous system. CAR-T cell therapy T cells are a type of immune system cell. They help the immune system respond to diseases and directly kill diseased cells. In chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, T cells are modified to recognize and attack cancer cells. Monoclonal antibody therapy is a type of immunotherapy. They attach to specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells or immune cells. They either label cancer as a target of the immune system or enhance the ability of immune cells to fight cancer.