What is Onco-hematology?
Onco-hematology is the subspecialty of hematology that deals with oncologic processes that originate in the blood-forming organs and lymph nodes.
Onco-hematology has made great progress in recent years, with very high cure percentages thanks to advances in the management of blood cancers. Thus, the most frequent acute leukemia in childhood can be cured in 90% of cases, and some acute leukemias in adults have success rates of 80%. Chronic myeloid leukemia, on the other hand, can be treated with well-tolerated, computer-designed oral medication that inhibits the abnormality in the leukemic cell that prevents it from functioning properly.
In other fields, there is still much to be researched and achieved, as in the case of lymphoma, where more or less half of the patients are cured, always depending on the individual case.
What diseases does Onco-hematology treat?
Hematologists specializing in blood cancers treat diseases such as leukemia (acute and chronic), myeloma, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative syndromes, among other pathologies.
Oncohematological processes can affect people of all ages, from children to adults.
Hematologists use very different treatments and therapies, depending on the case. Normally, the most commonly used therapies are:
- Chemotherapy. This is a medication that is administered orally or intravenously (sometimes also with subcutaneous injections). It is known as “treating with chemicals-drugs”. Sometimes it is administered in a grouped form, doing it every x amount of time, which is called chemotherapy cycles.
- Radiotherapy. This is a therapy that uses radiation focused on malignant cells.
- Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In this therapy there is no surgery but, after receiving a special (conditioning) treatment, the patient is intravenously administered the cells that produce the blood, i.e. the hematopoietic progenitors. This is a complex procedure that has to be performed in the hospital and is only applied in certain specific cases, to be specified by the specialist.
- Support with hemoderivatives. In some cases, support with blood products is also required, in which transfusions of different blood components are given if they are not adequately produced (platelets, red blood cells, etc.).
What subspecialties are there within Onco-hematology?
Onco-hematology is already a subspecialty in itself. Within Onco-hematology, there are doctors who are more specialized in one type of blood cancer or another, who do research specifically in that area.
When should one go to the onco-hematologist or hematologist?
A hematologist specializing in oncological blood diseases should be consulted when a cancer has been diagnosed in the blood-forming organs and lymph nodes. Normally the general practitioner, after analyzing the blood tests and other diagnostic data, will refer the patient to the specialist.