Low mortality in Cuban children with leukemia and sicklemia

Havana. Contrary to the sad existent situation before the victory of the Revolution, today are treated in Cuba 70 percent of the children with sharp leukemias, more frequent cancer in the childhood.

In 1965 all the Cuban children with that suffering died, and those that suffered of drepanocitosis or alone sicklemia arrived to the first adolescence, those which at the moment can surpass the 50 years of age, the daily Rebellious Youth indicates.

Such progresses were exposed by Eva Svarch, hematologist and grants a doctorate in Medical Sciences, in the penultimate day of sessions of the congresses of Hematology Immunology, Hemophilia, Transfusional Medicine and Regenerative that conclude their sessions in today's afternoon in the Palacio of Conventions of Havana.

The also consulting teacher of the Service of Pediatrics of the Institute of Hematology and Immunology explained that at the moment these sick persons (80 percent with linfoblastica leukemiaand 20 percent with mieloblastic) survive, because many drugs have appeared for its treatment.

Indicated that is a chronic, incurable illness, but that it is controlled with medications and simple measures that the parents should watch over.

Since1986 the National Institute of Genetics carries out the prenatal diagnosis of this affection and offers the possibility to interrupt the pregnancies of these creatures.

The mortality in sicklemics children in Cuba has diminished so much that in the last 20 years in the Institute of Hematology and Immunology single four cases have died. In África, for example, the survival is very short and in the places where there is not attendance medical, diverse reports indicate that no boy ends up being adolescent.

Cuba is one of the countries of Latin America that better knows how to treat the sicklemy, and in the Caribbean also accumulate great experience Jamaica, Guadalupe and Martinique.