Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A 22-year-old pregnant woman from Pithampur, diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), a form of blood cancer, has successfully given birth to healthy twins after receiving complex treatment at the Super Specialty Hospital.
The mother and her newborns—a boy and a girl—are now in good health, marking a remarkable medical achievement. Treating cancer during pregnancy is particularly risky due to the potential harm it can pose to both mother and child.
Many cancer treatments, including certain medications and chemotherapy, are not considered safe for pregnant women. In this high-risk case, the medical team, led by assistant professor Dr Akshay Lahoti and his clinical haematology department, managed to strike a balance between treating the cancer and ensuring the safety of the mother and her unborn children.
Superintendent Dr Sumit Shukla revealed that when the patient first arrived at 25 weeks pregnant, her white blood cell (WBC) count was over 200,000, and her platelet count had soared to around 1.5 million. In addition, she was suffering from an enlarged spleen—a known complication of CML.
Immediate treatment was necessary to stabilise her condition, and after about one and a half to two months of treatment, her blood counts were brought under control. The twins were safely delivered through normal childbirth at MTH Hospital under the supervision of Dr Sumitra Yadav’s unit, adding another success story to the medical team’s efforts.
Initially, the patient was treated with interferon injections, a common treatment for CML during pregnancy. However, due to a shortage of the drug, the medical team switched to Imatinib, a more advanced treatment for leukaemia.
To ensure the safety of the mother and her unborn children, Dr Lahoti consulted haematology experts from India and abroad before proceeding with the new treatment. Their combined expertise helped mitigate risks, resulting in a successful outcome for both the mother and her twins.