The basketball player Achille Polonara has announced that he has acute myeloid leukemia. Everything you need to know about this disease, the initial symptoms to be recognized and the possible therapies available today.
The news, communicated yesterday by Virtus Bologna, of leukemia acute myeloid which hit the basketball champion Achille Polonara He deeply shaken the world of sport. The thirty -year -old basketball player, who already in October 2023 had undergone surgery for a tumor with a testicle – school during a routine anti -doping control – had stopped playing a few days ago, after race 2 of the semifinal of the playoff that his team was playing against Olimpia Milan: there had been talk of mononucleosisInstead, the subsequent exams have made it official to be leukemia. Today the champion shared his shot from the hospital bed, with the phrase “everything will go well”, to thank the many encouragement messages received: Polonara is hospitalized Sant’Orsola Malpighi of Bologna And he has already started therapies to fight the disease.
Acute myeloid leukemia is a tumor of blood and bone marrow. It develops when a hematopoietic stem cell – that is, an immature cell destined to become red, white or platelet blood cell – undergoes a genetic mutation that alters its normal growth cycle. These immature cells, call blasts, They reproduce very quickly, occupy the marrow and prevent the production of healthy cells. So the patient develops symptoms like Persistent fever, general weakness, pallor, enlarged lymph nodes and recurring infections.
Acute myeloid leukemia, as unfortunately demonstrated by the case of Polonara, despite being more widespread in adults Sora 60 years old, can also affect young people apparently healthy. The causes can be manifold, and range from previous oncological therapies to genetic mutations, up toexposure to ionizing radiation. In some forms, there is also a hereditary incidence. It can also manifest itself in the absence of evident risk factors, and this makes it a disease dangerously unpredictable. The symptoms can worsen within a few days or weeks: an early diagnosis is essential to start the treatment promptly and obtain good chances of healing. The treatment of acute myeloid leukemia varies according to several factors, such as the patient’s age, the general conditions, any genetic mutations and the initial response to therapy. In general, the therapeutic path involves a intensive chemotherapy To eliminate as many leukemic cells as possible and an additional therapy to avoid repercussions. In some cases, the Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation It can prove to be the best long -term care option, especially in young and healthy patients. If he diagnosed early, acute myeloid leukemia is today a careful disease in a significant percentage of cases, with one survival 5 years after diagnosis which reaches over 60% of the sick.
