Treatment
The standard treatment for Hairy Cell Leukemia is chemotherapy, but this disease develops slowly, so you may not need to start treatment until you have symptoms or there are signs that your disease has progressed. Here are some of the procedures your doctor may recommend to treat Hairy Cell Leukemia.
Watchful waiting/Active surveillance
Hairy cell leukemia is a very slow-growing disease, so your doctor may recommend "watchful waiting" or "active surveillance" as your initial treatment. In patients with no symptoms, the benefits of treating hairy cell leukemia do not outweigh the side-effects of treatment. These patients will be monitored closely for cancer progression. If the doctor detects any cancer progression, active treatment will be started. Active surveillance allows some patients to avoid treatment side-effects until they start experiencing symptoms.
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Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to target rapidly growing cells in an effort to eliminate cancer cells. Chemotherapy medications may be given through the vein (intravenously) or by mouth (orally). Doctors may give a combination of different chemotherapy drugs to treat hairy cell leukemia. Your doctor may try different combinations of chemotherapy drugs or multiple cycles, depending on your progress.
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Biological Therapy
Immunotherapy stimulates the body's immune system and helps it fight cancer cells. It stimulates the body's natural defense system and the immune system's response to cancer cells.
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Targeted Therapy
Some cases of hairy cell leukemia contain cells that overexpress certain proteins that cause the cancer to grow more aggressively. A form of targeted therapy called monoclonal antibodies specifically targets these cells, preventing them from fueling cell growth.
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Splenectomy
Your spleen is an organ in your abdomen that filters your blood cells. In hairy cell leukemia, your spleen may become enlarged as cancer cells collect there, causing it to press on other organs. In severe cases, if the swelling is out of control, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove your spleen.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials allow patients to try a new treatment before it is available to the general public. In some cases, this may be a new drug that has not been used in humans before, or it may be a drug or drug combination that is not currently used for that specific type of cancer. Early phase clinical trials are often used to test side effects of a drug or drug combination, while later phase clinical trials are used to see how effective a new treatment might be for a certain type of cancer. Clinical trials allow doctors and researchers to improve the treatment of cancers with possibly more effective therapies. A clinical trial may be a new, groundbreaking drug or it may have no effect. It is important to talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of clinical trials for your particular situation.
