Does Bone Marrow Transplant actually cure cancer?

BloodCancerCure

To answer if something would cure cancer, one of the most dreaded diseases, we need to understand how the transplant works and what could go wrong. We would have heard the term bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant quite frequently from medical hospitals, social media and most importantly, from other patients.

 So, what exactly is bone marrow transplant and why is it done?

Bone marrow transplant is a procedure in which the pre-existing bone marrow is replaced by new, healthy bone marrow. This can be collected either from the patient itself or from a suitable donor. When the bone marrow is collected from the patient itself, it is called autologous bone marrow transplant. It could be collected from the patient’s umbilical cord if it has been preserved during childbirth. When the bone marrow is collected from a donor, it is called allogenic transplants. For this, the patient and the donor need to be compatible, which is decided through a test called HLA (human leukocyte antigen) testing.

In certain cancers, like lymphoma and leukaemia, the treatment involves giving high doses of chemotherapy or even radiation therapy for the entire body. this would destroy all or most of the cancerous cells but along with that, it would destroy all the stem cells. Stem cells are those cells produced by the bone marrow which would give rise to different types of healthy blood cells. In order to replace the stem cells, stem cell transplant or bone marrow transplant is done. These transplanted cells would multiply and finally replace the previously existing cells. During this period, the patient would have an extremely low immunity. One should take utmost care to not be exposed to any infections as even something as simple as a flu could prove to be hazardous.

What are the possible risks and complications of the procedure?

Just like any other elaborate procedure, there are many risks involved in this procedure.

·    Infection: The biggest risk and probable complication would arise from infection. Just after the chemotherapy, the patient’s immunity is very low. At this stage, if the patient does not take good care of himself, even a small infection could be a serious condition.

·   Infertility: As a consequence of heavy chemotherapy, the fertility of the individual may be affected. This is something that the patient needs to consider prior to undergoing this procedure.

·   Risk of developing other cancers: There is always an increased risk of developing other cancers, especially if the patient is exposed to heavy doses of radiation.

Does this procedure cure bone marrow cancer?

In an ideal condition, a bone marrow transplant would eventually lead to healthy stem cells which form normal blood cells and cure cancer, having destroyed all the cancerous cells. But in real life, there are many other considerations which could hinder the cure for cancer.

One must carefully analyse if the treatment is suitable for the type of cancer they have. Not all types of cancer can be cured with bone marrow transplantation. Did you know that previously, this procedure was tried out for breast cancer before it was decided that it was not more effective than the conventional treatment methods?

Another important factor to consider is that there could be the variation in results. Some patients may respond extremely well and be completely cured, while in some others, the transplanted cells are killed or do not multiply enough to replace all the pre-existing cells. It could also happen that the cells do not turn out healthy and vital but are the same even after the bone marrow transplant. Sometimes, there could be re-occurrence of the bone marrow cancer. There is no way of giving a hundred percent guarantee that the treatment would work. Researchers are finding factors that increase the risk of failure in order to increase chances of complete cure.

In conditions where the patient is undergoing an allogenic transplantation, the graft may get rejected entirely despite immunosuppressant. This could also ultimately lead to failure of the bone marrow transplantation.

Despite these odds, the success rate for a bone marrow transplant is around 62 percent. One needs to consider the pros and cons, and the willingness to take the chance of failure of 38 percent. There are also various complications that could happen during and after the procedure even if the procedure is successful. One must decide only after weighing these carefully.

Also Read: Bone Marrow test cost in India

About BloodCancerCure:

BloodCancerCure is world’s first such organization working 24*7 on helping blood cancer patients. BloodCancerCure works for patients across world by providing the lowest cost for bone marrow transplants, chemotherapy, and Bone marrow test. You can contact at +91-8448533753 to talk to our experts at BloodCancerCure for BMT treatment in India.