An exclusive interview with Dr. Arijit Bishnu of Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre & Research Institute by The Republic Indian for public awareness about blood cancer

What is Blood Cancer?

Blood cancer also known as leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues.  Most of these cancers start in your bone marrow where blood is produced. In most blood cancers, the normal blood cell development process is interrupted by uncontrolled growth of an abnormal type of blood cell. These abnormal blood cells, or cancerous cells, prevent your blood from performing many of its functions, like fighting off infections or preventing serious bleeding.

What are the types of blood cancer?

There are three main types of blood cancers:

Leukemia, a type of cancer found in your blood and bone marrow, is caused by the rapid production of abnormal white blood cells. The high number of abnormal white blood cells are not able to fight infection, and they impair the ability of the bone marrow to produce red blood cells and platelets.

Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which removes excess fluids from your body and produces immune cells. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that fight infection. Abnormal lymphocytes become lymphoma cells, which multiply and collect in your lymph nodes and other tissues. Over time, these cancerous cells impair your immune system.

Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells. Plasma cells are white blood cells that produce disease- and infection-fighting antibodies in your body. Myeloma cells prevent the normal production of antibodies, leaving your body’s immune system weakened and susceptible to infection. 

They each have different symptoms, treatments and prognoses.

What causes blood cancer?

Blood cancer is caused by changes (mutations) in the DNA within blood cells. This causes the blood cells to start behaving abnormally. In almost all cases, these changes are linked to things we can’t control. They happen during a person’s lifetime, so they are not

genetic faults you can pass on.

How does chemotherapy work in such cases?

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. This type of cancer treatment works by keeping cancer cells from growing, dividing, and making more cells.

What type of treatments do pediatric hematologist/oncologist provide?

The treatments provided depend upon the disease or type of cancer. Treatment may in the form of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy or a combination of the different modalities. Specialized treatment like Haematopoetic stem cell transplant are also offered in difficult to treat cancers.