Genetic link discovered to common form of leukaemia

Researchers in the UK have discovered a genetic link to a common form of leukaemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a slowly-progressing form of the disease and affects around 2,750 people in the UK every year.

While anecdotal evidence has led to the suspicion that inherited factors play a part in the development of CLL, no genetic basis had previously been discovered.

In new research by carried out at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, scientists have discovered that a variation in certain genes may explain to some extent the inherited susceptibility for developing the disease.

The scientists say the discovery could lead to improved treatment for CLL patients.

The team led by Professor Richard Houlston compared DNA from CLL patients with DNA from a healthy group and found six genes with variations in their genetic sequences that are strongly associated with the development of CLL.

Professor Houlston says each of these variations, by itself, has a very small effect on the risk of developing CLL, but when all of them are present there is a significantly increased risk of leukaemia.

CLL accounts for roughly a quarter of all leukaemia cases and the variants occur in genes that play a role in the proliferation of so-called B cells, a type of white blood produced in the bone marrow.

Professor Houlston says the evidence they now have will mean research can now be carried out to determine exactly how the different genes contribute to this risk.

Experts say the study's findings are intriguing and are particularly useful because all previous attempts to identify a gene responsible for CLL have failed, even though scientists have long suspected there might be a genetic link to the disease.

They say CLL is more common among certain ethnic groups and some families have a strong history but warn that the information is too novel to be used as yet to screen groups of patients for CLL.

Cancer Research UK and Leukaemia Research who funded the research, say they are pleased that investment in genome wide scanning technology is paying dividends and enabling important discoveries to be made.

They hope in the long term they will be able help more people at increased risk of the developing CLL, through the development of tailored screening and treatment programmes.

The research is published in the journal Nature Genetics.