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Treatment Option Overview
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There are different types of treatment for patients with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases.
Different types of treatments are available for patients with myelodysplastic /myeloproliferative diseases. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. Before starting treatment, patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site. Choosing the most appropriate cancer treatment is a decision that ideally involves the patient, family, and health care team.
Four types of standard treatment are used:
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. Combination chemotherapy is treatment using more than one anticancer drug.
Other drug therapy
13-cis retinoic acid is a vitamin -like drug that slows the cancer's ability to make more cancer cells and changes the way these cells look and act.
Stem cell transplant
Stem cell transplant is a method of replacing blood -forming cells that are destroyed by chemotherapy. Stem cells (immature blood cells) are removed from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or a donor and are frozen and stored. After the chemotherapy is completed, the stored stem cells are thawed and given back to the patient through an infusion. These reinfused stem cells grow into (and restore) the body's blood cells.
Supportive care
Supportive care is given to lessen the problems caused by the disease or its treatment. Supportive care may include transfusion therapy or drug therapy, such as antibiotics to fight infection.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials. These include the following:
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs or other substances to attack cancer cells without harming normal cells. Farnesyltransferase inhibitors are one type of targeted therapy that is being studied in the treatment of JMML.
Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
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