302 3. Haematology (the case of the nurse asleep on her night shift) Flashcards
1
Q
What is chronic myeloid leukaemia?
A
A slow progressing cancer caused by over-proliferation of myeloid cells
2
Q
What does a blood film for CML look like?
A
Myeloid cells at all stages of maturation
3
Q
What is the drug hydroxycarbamide used for?
A
In CML to reduce the reduce WCC
4
Q
What is the drug allopurinol for?
A
It reduces urate levels to reduce gout
5
Q
Why is CML treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors?
A
These drugs target abnormal BCR-ABL1 proteins that cause uncontrolled CML cell growth and block its functions, causing CML cells to die
6
Q
What are BCR-ABL1 proteins?
A
Proteins formed from 2 pieces of genes that get joined together
They’re present in CML, ALL, and AML
