Early symptoms are easily misdiagnosed. These two types of blood tumors specifically target middle-aged and elderly people.

This month is National Respect for the Aged Month, and we want to pay attention to two types of blood tumors that specifically target middle-aged and elderly people.

Everyone generally knows about blood tumors as leukemia and lymphoma, but there are two types of blood tumors that are particularly targeted at middle-aged and elderly people and are easily misdiagnosed and missed - multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic tumors. The symptoms of these two types of blood tumors are very subtle and may just be back pain or anemia. Although the awareness rate is not high, data show that the incidence of these two tumors has increased significantly in the past three decades. Among them, the incidence rate of multiple myeloma has increased by more than 170% in the past three decades. It is the second most common hematological malignant tumor in my country, higher than leukemia.

Both of these hematological tumors originate from lesions in the bone marrow, the core of human hematopoiesis, destroying the body's normal hematopoietic function, but their pathogenesis and core lesions are different.

·Multiple myeloma occurs in plasma cells in the bone marrow. Plasma cells are the "guards" of the immune system and are responsible for producing antibodies and resisting infection. Once they proliferate abnormally, malignant plasma cells will invade the bone marrow space, erode bones, and secrete abnormal proteins to damage organs throughout the body.

·Myelodysplastic tumors are hematopoietic stem cells that undergo malignant transformation and form abnormal clones. The produced blood cells are malformed and functional, crowding out the territory of normal cells and shutting down the "hematopoietic factory" of the bone marrow. Downstream red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are not supplied. The core feature is pancytopenia.

Early symptoms can easily be misdiagnosed, so be alert to these symptoms.

The high-risk group for multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic tumors is people over 50 years old, and the older the age, the higher the risk and severity of the disease. One of the important reasons why it is easy to be misdiagnosed is that many symptoms such as back pain and anemia are often mistaken for normal aging phenomena. Even if it is repeated, people often go to orthopedics and nephrology for treatment, and rarely think that it is a blood problem.

Both blood cancers share a number of similar early symptoms and common warning signs:

·First, persistent and stubborn anemia. Patients generally suffer from symptoms such as long-term fatigue, pale complexion, dizziness, shortness of breath, drowsiness, and fatigue. Treatments such as rest, dietary supplements, and ordinary blood supplements are ineffective in the long term.

·Second, immunity continues to decline. Patients suffer from repeated colds, frequent respiratory infections, oral inflammation, and skin infections, and the infection recovery rate is much slower than that of ordinary people.

In addition to anemia and decreased immunity, multiple myeloma also has a specific body signal. Cancerous plasma cells will break the balance of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, causing bones to be broken down faster than they are built, and the bones will become brittle and loose.

Zhang Xiaohui, deputy director of the Institute of Hematology at Peking University, said: "The bone destruction of this disease causes persistent pain in the lower back, sternum, ribs, and limb bones. There is no cause of trauma. It is often misdiagnosed as osteoporosis, lumbar muscle strain, etc. Severe fractures, pathological fractures, are diagnosed at this time."

However, having these symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have a blood tumor, and don’t scare yourself.

·Remember the three principles of "persistent no relief, no improvement in symptoms, and superposition of multiple symptoms". If a single symptom persists for more than 1 month, investigate immediately;

·If middle-aged and elderly people suffer from anemia + bone pain + recurrent infections at the same time, multiple myeloma should be investigated first;

·If anemia + bleeding + low white blood cells occur at the same time, focus on investigating myelodysplastic tumors.

Are blood tumors hereditary? What is the cause of the disease?

Will multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic tumors, and other hematological tumors that are highly prevalent in middle-aged and elderly people be passed on to the next generation? What are the causes?

Zhang Xiaohui, deputy director of the Institute of Hematology at Peking University, pointed out: "Current clinical studies have also confirmed that the core pathogenesis of this disease is age-related mutations in hematopoietic cell genes. We must not have the concept that the disease must be in the family. If someone in my family has the disease, I will get the disease. This concept does not exist. Don't panic. , don’t be anxious. Although there is no direct genetic gene, there is also a slight family history of susceptibility, so the risk of patients with multiple myeloma and other malignant tumors of other lymphatic and hematopoietic system diseases is slightly higher than that of ordinary people, but the risk level is very low.”

Experts suggest that if there are middle-aged and elderly people in the family suffering from these two hematological tumors, the children do not need to be overly anxious and do not need to undergo bone marrow puncture; normal physical examinations, routine blood tests, liver and kidney function screenings are enough. High-risk factors are mainly advanced age, long-term exposure to radiation, exposure to harmful chemicals, long-term heavy smoking, etc.

Can blood tumors of bone marrow origin be cured?

In the public mind, once a hematological tumor is diagnosed, it is often equated to an "incurable disease." In particular, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic tumors have low public awareness, are insidious in the early stages, and have a long course. They were previously regarded as "ultimate terminal illnesses" by many patients. In fact, these two tumors have now become highly treatable and partially clinically curable malignant tumors.

Mi Jianqing, director of the Department of Hematology at Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, said: "From the simplest chemotherapy, to simple immunotherapy, and then to corresponding targeted therapies, these treatments can gradually improve the survival rate of patients. With long-term and reasonable management and follow-up, most patients can survive for nearly ten years, or even 20 years, making it a long-term, chronic disease, and some patients are even finally cured."