Treatment options
There is no direct treatment for leukemia cutis, but it is important to treat the underlying type of leukemia and the cause. Most of the causes of leukemia are genetic and cannot be corrected, but the progression of the disease can be stopped by various methods. A medical oncologist has to take the decision after all of his investigations are carried out and the type of leukemia is identified. The treatment options for leukemia typically include systemic chemotherapy, which is the first choice depending on the stage of the cancer. Other treatment options include localized radiation, photo therapy and electron beam therapy.
If the underlying cause is a viral infection, the patient should be given prophylactic doses of antivirals before going for systemic chemotherapy. Patients undergoing chemotherapy can usually have lesions and ulcers in the mouth and gums as a side effect of chemotherapy drugs, and in such cases mouth wash and ketoconazole cream can be used to treat the symptoms.
For the treatment of leukemia cutis, radiotherapy can be an option. It can be used to deal with the pain and pruritus caused by the lesions, and when patients are not eligible for systemic chemotherapy. Nowadays, several advancements are made to treat patients with leukemia cutis through methods such as Helical irradiation of the total skin (HITS) therapy or helical arc radiotherapy of total skin (HEARTS), used to treat someone with leukemia cutis.
The drugs used in chemotherapy are Anti neoplastic agents which cause the inhibition of proliferation of the problem cell. Some of these drugs include Daunorubicin, cytarabine, idarubicin and methotrexate.