The Environmental Sciences department at the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) organised a seminar on “Leukemia Diagnosis and Treatment” in the university’s Central Library.
Scientific and Principal Technical Director, Clinical Trial Coordinator Inc., USA Dr Sairah Alvi was guest speaker on the occasion. IIUI Female Campus Director Professor Qaiserah M Alvi, faculty of Basic & Applied Sciences Dean Dr Muhammad Irfan Khan, female faculty members, administrative officers and a large number of female students attended the conference. Speaking on the occasion Dr Sairah Alvi said it was important to understand the diagnosis and treatment of Leukemia as it was the most terrible cancer of all the existing cancers. She described Leukemia as a range of cancers that began in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. She further discussed that the symptoms of Leukemia may be difficult to recognise; it usually began abruptly and intensely, but in some cases symptoms developed slowly. “They may be present one day, and absent the next. The causes of the disease are not known, but researchers believe that it develops from a combination of genetic, biologic, and environmental factors,” she said. Leukemia is diagnosed based on various tests. Diagnosis is very sensitive and specific. Once a diagnosis of leukemia has been made, further tests are performed on the bone marrow cells.