Due to increasing cases of cancer, there is an increase in cases of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. The pharmaceutical companies are involved in developing cost-effective drugs, and treatment methods which are expected to decrease the incidences of neutropenia associated with chemotherapies and results in the advancements.
What is neutropenia?
Neutropenia disorder is related to health problem. People suffering from neutropenia usually have a low count of neutrophils in the blood. Neutrophils are the type of white blood cells that protect against infection-causing bacteria and viruses that attack our bodies. Neutrophils fight the infection by destroying disease-causing infectious pathogens that invade the body. It is formed in the bone marrow, a spongy tissue found in long bones.
Signs and symptoms of neutropenia:
A person suffering from neutropenia doesn’t show symptoms. Most people come to know about neutropenia when they have a blood test for any unrelated reasons or any get any infection. Neutropenia may cause tiredness and drowsiness in some people. Neutropenia is common in cancer patients who have received chemotherapy as the treatment for cancer. Other infections may also cause neutropenia.
In fact, in those who are already suffering from neutropenia, bacterial and viral infections can cause more complications. Neutropenic fevers are difficult to identify. Even if the cause of infections is not known then also Neutropenic fevers are treated with antibiotics. The immune system becomes weak due to neutropenia due to which patients can fall sick quickly. The severity of Neutropenia is more it is untreated for a longer duration of time and neutrophils count go very down.
Causes of neutropenia
Since neutrophils are produced in the bone marrow so problems related to bone marrow may cause neutropenia. Leukaemia also affects bone marrow. Radiation and chemotherapy interfere with neutrophil formation as well as destroy the neutrophils in the blood. Nutritional deficiencies also result in neutropenia. Bacterial Infections like tuberculosis, dengue and viral infections HIV, viral hepatitis, etc. can also cause a decrease in the count of neutrophils. Autoimmune diseases are also one of the reasons for neutropenia.
Neutropenia treatment:
Depending on the severity, causes, and infections related to neutropenia, treatment varies. Mild cases don’t require treated, it can be cured with having a good nutritional diet.
There are mainly two types of primary treatment for neutropenia first is using antibiotics and second is treating with drugs to stimulate the bone marrow to produce neutrophils. In other bone marrow transplantation is also be considered as an option.
Colony-stimulating factor
Scientists and researchers are trying to discover drugs that directly acts on bone marrow. Recently, new drugs have been developed that stimulate the bone marrow to produce neutrophils and helps in restoring the normal function of the immune system. In neutropenia treatment, drugs called granulocyte colony-stimulating factors are also very effective, since it induces the formation of neutrophil that is a granulocyte. These colony-stimulating factors are small molecules that decrease the infection and reduce the chances of getting hospitalized. It always keeps the neutrophils count above the normal level in the blood.
Antibiotics
In the case of severe neutropenia, patients develop a fever. In such a case, they are treated with antibiotics even without knowing the exact cause of fever. Antibiotics help in fighting with the infections if the fever is caused by any bacterial infections. Long term repeated use of antibiotics may have side effects like the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, diarrhea, and inflammation in the intestine. It may also have an adverse effect on the kidney and liver.
Bone marrow transplant
Bone marrow transplant is a good option in treating neutropenia when it is severe and drug treatment doesn’t work. Granulaocytetransufusion is also done when the bone marrow doesn’t respond to drug or bone marrow is unable to form granulocytes at all.
Diagnosis:
Neutropenia is diagnosed by performing a blood test, in which blood cells count is done. In some cases, bone marrow biopsy may be a better option if it is necessary to diagnose the exact cause of neutropenia.
Many pharmaceutical companies are working to develop molecules that act as immune-stimulatory that helps in the growth and activation of a broad range of white blood cells important in activating the body's immune response to fight infection. Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designed for the prevention of serious bacterial and fungal infections in patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) undergoing induction chemotherapy.
Sum up:
The neutropenia treatment market has been witnessing rapid growth due to the increasing demand for the novel drugs' developments and increase and supply for both developing and developed countries. The neutropenia treatment market has shown substantial growth and its demand will keep on increasing.
The increasing cases of neutropenia with the passage of time have led to the expansion of the neutropenia treatment market. Some of the drugs that are used in cancer treatment like Fulphila have been recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of neutropenia. The occurrence of febrile neutropenia is the most serious side effect of chemotherapy, so drugs like Ziextenzo are given to the cancer patients who have been given chemotherapy. The adult patients with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) are also treated with a recently developed drug TRUXIMA and have proved the good result in treating neutropenia. But the high cost of neutropenia care and strict regulations on drug approval has become a hindrance.
Free Valuable Insights: Global Neutropenia Treatment Market to reach a market size of USD 18.9 billion by 2026
The pharmaceutical companies are involved in developing new drugs and therapies which are expected to decrease the incidences of neutropenia associated with chemotherapies as well as reduce the chances of bacterial and fungal infections in patients. Since the high cost of neutropenia treatment, there is a high demand for cost-effective drug development in the neutropenia treatment market. As a result, manufacturers are more focused on the production of small molecules that can lower processing costs than biologics.
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