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Days after Tatiana Schlossberg announced that she had terminal cancer, the following signs have been brought to our attention: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The 35-year-old granddaughter of John F. Kennedy revealed details of her diagnosis in an essay published in 2006. new yorker November 22nd.
Schlossberg, the daughter of President Kennedy’s daughter Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, learned of her illness in May 2024.
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She wrote that one doctor predicted she had about a year to live.
The first indicator of Schlossberg’s disease was an abnormally high white blood cell count, which doctors detected in her hours later. gave birth to her second child.
The 35-year-old granddaughter of John F. Kennedy revealed details of her diagnosis in an essay published in The New Yorker on November 22nd. The photo is from 2023. (AP)
What is acute myeloid leukemia?
According to the American Cancer Society, AML is a type of leukemia that begins in the bone marrow, the soft inner tissue of certain bones where new blood cells are produced.
This type of cancer usually spreads quickly from the bone marrow into the bloodstream and can also reach other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. brain and spinal cordand testicles, according to ACS.
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In some cases, clusters of leukemia cells can form a solid mass known as myelosarcoma.
Schlossberg’s AML is rare genetic mutation This is known as inversion 3 and is an abnormality of chromosome 3 in leukemia cells.
Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy (left) and Edwin Schlossberg, learned of her illness in May 2024. (Getty Images)
“Inversion 3 is correlated with a very high rate of resistance to standard chemotherapy treatment, and therefore very poor clinical outcomes,” Dr. Steven Chan, a leukemia expert and oncologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, told FOX News Digital. (Mr. Chong was not involved in Mr. Schlossberg’s treatment.)
Red flags and risk factors
The most common symptoms of Schlossberg cancer include sudden onset. severe fatigueDr. Pamela Becker, a professor in the leukemia division at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment institute in California, said she was not treating Schlossberg for shortness of breath on exertion, unusual bleeding or bruising, fever, and infections.
AML can resemble a severe flu that makes you feel generally unwell.
Chung noted that AML usually causes an abnormally low blood cell count or, in some cases, an abnormally high white blood cell count.
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“This can be detected during routine testing for other purposes or because the patient develops symptoms due to a drop in these blood cell counts,” he said.
Robert Sikorsky, M.D., a hematology and oncology expert and chief medical officer at Sero Therapeutics in California, notes that AML can resemble a severe form of the flu that generally makes you feel sick.
“Some patients experience bone pain and night sweats,” he told Fox News Digital.
From left, Edwin Schlossberg, Rose Schlossberg, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Tatiana Schlossberg, and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg stand outside the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. Tatiana Schlossberg said doctors gave her one year to live. (Getty Images)
known AML risk factors These include previous chemotherapy or radiation, smoking, long-term benzene exposure and certain genetic syndromes, but most cases occur without a specific cause, said Sikorsky, who has not treated Schlossberg.
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In rare cases, mutations that cause AML can be inherited within families, but recent research suggests these cases may be more common than previously thought, Chung noted.
“Previously, all you had to do was check this young AML patients“However, we now believe that all patients should be screened for these mutations,” he said.
AML treatment
Becker said the standard treatment for AML is intensive chemotherapy with a combination of two drugs, with additional drugs added based on each patient’s unique characteristics.
“We now believe that all patients should be tested for these mutations.”
For patients with high-risk types of AML, chemotherapy is usually given after chemotherapy. Stem cell (bone marrow) transplant To prevent recurrence. Transplants are provided by a matched donor, often a family member.
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“This is a more complicated process, typically involving an additional month in the hospital, followed by months of close follow-up, and a much higher risk of treatment-related side effects,” Chung said.
There is no specific treatment that is effective for Schlossberg disease. specific chromosome Doctors noted that although some new cell and immunotherapies are being studied, they are unusual.
Caroline Kennedy’s children, Jack and Tatiana Schlossberg, and her husband Edwin Schlossberg were photographed at the U.S. Capitol in 2013. The first sign of Schlossberg’s disease was an abnormally high white blood cell count, which doctors detected just hours after she gave birth to her second child in 2024. (Getty Images)
For older patients who are not strong enough to undergo intensive chemotherapy, the standard treatment is venetoclax/azacytidine (azacytidine). combination therapy (used to treat certain types of AML), Chung said.
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“This is often done once a month, primarily outside of the hospital,” he says. “Although it is not technically considered curative, it can be very effective. In some cases, patients remain in remission for months, if not years.”
hope for the future
There’s hope on the horizon, AML treatment is progressing Sikorsky said there has been an increase in the past 10 years than in the past 30 years.
Caroline Kennedy is pictured with her children Rose Schlossberg (left), Tatiana Schlossberg (center), and Jack Schlossberg at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Doctors say there is hope for AML treatment. (Getty Images)
“New molecularly targeted drugs have been approved for several AML subtypes, and early research in immune-based treatments, including CAR-T and other engineered cell therapies, is beginning to advance into clinical trials in AML,” Sikorsky told FOX News Digital.
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“Supportive care has also improved significantly, allowing patients to tolerate treatment more effectively.”
Although there are no drugs specific to Inversion 3 yet, “many studies focused on high-risk AML are actively enrolling these patients, and overall Treatment scene It continues to expand. ”
