Essay Example on Smoke on the Horizon Connection between Smoking and AM

PROPOSAL bachelor thesis GNK B15 2017 2018 Student details Name Student number 2570332 PhD internist hematologist Tentative Title of bachelor thesis Smoke on the horizon Connection between Smoking and AML Bachelor Thesis proposal Background Acute myeloid leukaemia AML is a life threatening haematological malignancy in which in a short time days to weeks a rapid growth of malignant leukaemia cells blasts takes the place of normal blood production in the bone marrow and peripheral blood 1 In 2017 in the United States 21 380 estimated new cases of leukaemia 11 960 men and 9 420 women were diagnosed with AML and 10 590 people 6 110 men and 4 480 women died from it 2 AML incidence rates are increased from 3 4 per 100 000 in 2004 to 5 1 in 2013 although the death rates stayed stable 2 Most people diagnosed with AML are approximately 66 years with 54 patients over 65 years and 33 over 75 years 3 Of the patients who are diagnosed at a later age the diagnosis is frequently correlated with underlying risk factors 

The causes of leukaemia are not yet fully understood but due to research many links have been found in the last few years The best known risk factors for the development of AML are being male being exposed to chemical benzene or large doses of ionizing radiation family history with leukaemia having a history of blood disorders such as Polycythaemia Vera or Myelodysplastic Syndrome or genetic disorders such as Down syndrome or Klinefelter syndrome undergone treatment for leukaemia or other types of cancer in the past or smoking 1 2 4 5 Tobacco smoke contains cancer causing chemicals including benzene which are linked to develop acute myeloid leukaemia in adults however the exact nature of this connection is not clear The relation between tobacco usage and onset of AML is worth the effort of additional research because smoking behaviour can be prevented Aim The central aim of this study is to perform a systematic review on smoking behaviour and acute myeloid leukaemia AML development in adults Research Question What is known about the epidemiological relationship between smoking and AML With this question the relationship between smoking behaviour and AML through a systematic review of journal publications since 2007 

Therefore this question will be focussed on the extra risk compared to normal population and exposure pack years On 8 May 2014 a meta analysis has been written by Fircanis et al 6 their results showed that current and ever smokers have respectively 40 and 25 increased risk of developing AML when compared with non smokers In this review the focus will be on the recently added articles and it will be investigated if the latest results are different from the study of Fircanis et al Methods A PubMed literature search was undertaken using the search algorithm Smoking Mesh OR smoking tiab OR cigar tiab OR tobacco tiab OR smoking behaviour tiab OR smoking habit tiab AND Leukemia Myeloid Acute Mesh OR AML tiab OR Acute Myeloid Leukemia tiab OR Acute Myelogenous Leukemia tiab OR Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia tiab OR Acute Myelocytic Leukemia tiab OR Acute Nonlymphoblastic Leukemia tiab OR Acute Granulocytic Leukemia tiab OR ANLL tiab OR Acute Nonlymphocytic Leukemia tiab On 10 January 2018 73 articles followed from this search method The titles and abstracts of the resulting articles are going to be examined and after excluding non related articles full text articles are going to be retrieved If an article was selected for inclusion the references are going to be reviewed looking for additional studies 

Additional search of EMBASE and Scopus will be searched to look for supplementary studies Inclusion and exclusion criteria The studies that took into account a connection between smoking and AML diagnosis in adults are considered qualified Reviews meta analysis editorials letters comments and case reports will be excluded Only the most recent articles will be selected due to reviews in the past A publication time of 10 years 2006 is there for chosen To prevent language barriers English and Dutch are going to be included and other languages excluded Solely published articles and articles that referred to human adults are going to be selected References 1 Union for International Cancer Control 2014 Review of Cancer Medicines on the WHO List of Essential Medicines ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA Including Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia 2014 1st ed pp 1 14 Geneva Retrieved 4 January 2018 from http www who int selection_medicines committees expert 20 applications AML_APL pdf 2 American Cancer Society Cancer Facts Figures 2017 1st ed pp 4 44 Atlanta Georgia Retrieved 30 December 2017 from https www cancer org content dam cancer org research cancer facts and statistics annual cancer facts and figures 2017 cancer facts and figures 2017 pdf 3 NCCN Guidelines Acute Myeloid Leukemia 2014 2nd ed Fort Washington PA Retrieved 30 December 2017 from www nccn org 4 Acute myeloid leukaemia Causes 2016 nhs uk Retrieved 5 January 2018 from https www nhs uk conditions acute myeloid leukaemia causes 5 American Cancer Society What Are the Risk Factors for Acute Myeloid Leukemia 2016 February 22 Cancer org Retrieved 5 January 2018 from https www cancer org cancer acute myeloid leukemia causes risks prevention risk factors html 6 Fircanis S Merriam P Khan N Castillo J J 2014 The relation between cigarette smoking and risk of acute myeloid leukemia An updated meta analysis of epidemiological studies American Journal Of Hematology 89 8 E125 E132 http dx doi org 10 1002 ajh 23744