Transcription
Welcome back to my channel. Anemia and malignancy: how cancer patients can get anemia. I'll discuss it now, but first, let me answer the question from the previous video. My previous video was discussing anemia in chronic kidney disease. There was a question; the answer will be: we have medical, surgical, diet. So, medical: iron chelation therapy such as deferoxamine, deferiprone, deferasirox. The surgical: it depends on the process or on the problem itself. The diet: avoid vitamin C because vitamin C increases iron absorption.
Now let's talk about anemia and malignancy. This is your nice tumor guy, and this patient has anemia, pale, tired, headache, maybe angina, murmur, exercise intolerance, dyspnea on exertion, etc., etc., etc. Here is your nice scimitar poiesis slide: RBCs, white blood cells, platelets, white blood cells again. Deficiency of RBCs is called anemia; deficiency of white blood cells is called leukopenia; deficiency of platelets is called thrombocytopenia. But today we're only talking about anemia. The MCV is the judge that will determine if the anemia is microcytic, normocytic, or macrocytic. Normocytic anemia has the normal MCV, eighty to one hundred range. Normally, they can email where the MCV ranges between eighty and one hundred. We have three causes: low loss, underproduction/destruction. We have discussed all of these before.
And now let's talk about anemia in malignancy. What is the mechanism? Actually, a lot: maybe nutritional deficiency. Cancer patients are depressed; they are having many problems with their body, so they tend to eat less. Maybe the tumor will bleed, such as colon cancer. Myelophthisis: the bone marrow is infiltrated by cancer. Anemia of chronic disease, also known as anemia of inflammation. You have, for example, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and you're getting pain; sometimes you can get anemia. What's the mechanism? Please watch my video on anemia of chronic disease. Maybe treatment of cancer itself: chemotherapy, surgery, radiation can lead to anemia. Chronic kidney disease: why is that? Because the kidneys secrete the nice EPO. When there is no EPO, there are no red blood cells.
How about cachexia? It's a very broad topic, and I'm planning on doing a separate video on cachexia, but for now, just know cachexia can lead to symptoms of anemia in a cancer patient. And now, question of the day. This is the 16th question. You'd like to get the previous ones; go to my Facebook page. There is an album there called Question of the Day. Which cytokines are related to cachexia? Please let me know in the comments, and I'll discuss cachexia very soon. Thank you. Study hard. Have a great day.