Leukemia News and Research

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Leukemia (Leukaemia) is a cancer of the blood cells. It is the most common type of blood cancer and affects 10 times as many adults as children. Most people diagnosed with leukemia are over 50 years old. No one knows why some people develop leukemia and others do not. However, scientists have identified some risk factors for the disease. Most people who have known risk factors do not get leukemia, while many who do get the disease have none of these risk factors. During the early stages of leukemia, there may be no symptoms. Many of the symptoms of leukemia don't become apparent until a large number of normal blood cells are crowded out by leukemia cells.

Umbilical CBT more effective than MUD bone marrow transplants for leukemia patients

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study compared outcomes of leukemia patients receiving bone marrow transplants from 2009-2014, finding that three years post transplant, the incidence of severe chronic graft-versus-host disease was 44 percent in patients who had received transplants from matched, unrelated donors (MUD) and 8 percent in patients who had received umbilical cord blood transplants (CBT).

27 Jul 2016

Scientists identify new genetic variations contributing to onset of APL

A study led by a team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore has identified new genetic alterations contributing to the onset of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL).

27 Jul 2016

Blood cancer is associated with considerably higher healthcare costs than other cancers

Health economics studies, published today in The Lancet Haematology, report that the cost of treating blood cancers is twice that for treating other cancers. This is largely because they require more complex treatment regimens that necessitate longer hospital stays.

22 Jul 2016

Advanced Instruments receives FDA approval to market GloCyte System

Advanced Instruments, Inc., a leader in laboratory instrumentation, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its GloCyte Automated Cell Counter System and GloCyte Low and High Level Controls.

22 Jul 2016

New study offers hypothesis why obese patients fare worse during cancer treatment

Across many cancer types, obese patients fare worse than leaner patients. Now a University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell offers a compelling hypothesis why: researchers found that leukemia stem cells "hide" in fatty tissue, even transforming this tissue in ways that support their survival when challenged with chemotherapy. It is as if leukemia stem cells not only use fatty tissue as a robbers' cave to hide from therapy, but actively adapt this cave to their liking.

21 Jul 2016

TSRI study reveals new approach to intervene in deadly disease

In a new study, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have identified drug candidates that can boost a cell's ability to catch the "typos" in protein production that can cause a deadly disease called amyloidosis.

From Paxman 21 Jul 2016

New study sheds light on pathogenesis of DNA lesions present in leukemia

Researchers have succeeded in shedding light on the pathogenesis of DNA breakpoints that are associated with leukemia.

20 Jul 2016

TUM scientists discover molecular signaling pathway for self-destruction in leukemia cells

When adults develop blood cancer, they are frequently diagnosed with what is referred to as acute myeloid leukemia.

15 Jul 2016

OVC research may help improve cancer treatment

Cancer treatment in people could be transformed thanks to a study on treating cancer in animals led by researchers from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph.

14 Jul 2016

Scientists identify viable new approach to making more stem cells from cord blood

International stem cell scientists, co-led in Canada by Dr. John Dick and in the Netherlands by Dr. Gerald de Haan, have discovered the switch to harness the power of cord blood and potentially increase the supply of stem cells for cancer patients needing transplantation therapy to fight their disease.

14 Jul 2016

New treatment approach may benefit relapsed post-transplant blood cancer patients

For many patients with advanced blood cancers, a stem-cell transplant can drive the disease into remission. However, about one-third of these patients experience a relapse and face a very poor prognosis.

13 Jul 2016

Italian researchers identify new variant of emerging antibiotic resistance mechanism

A team of Italian investigators has discovered a new variant of an emerging antibiotic resistance mechanism. The new variant, dubbed mcr-1.2, confers resistance to colistin, a last-resort antibiotic against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens.

13 Jul 2016

Leukemia drug increases brain dopamine, lowers toxic proteins linked to Parkinson's or dementia

A small phase I study provides molecular evidence that an FDA-approved drug for leukemia significantly increased brain dopamine and reduced toxic proteins linked to disease progression in patients with Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.

12 Jul 2016

JAX researchers find precise, reliable way to identify leukemia cells of origin

Every cancer starts with a single cell, and Jackson Laboratory researchers have found a precise and reliable way -- whole-genome profiling of open chromatin -- to identify the kind of cell that leads to a given case of leukemia, a valuable key to cancer prognosis and outcome.

11 Jul 2016

Scientists reveal how common symptomless condition can develop into myeloma

Researchers from the University of Birmingham and hospitals across the West Midlands have revealed how a common symptomless condition can develop into the blood cancer myeloma.

11 Jul 2016

Scientists identify set of genes that could predict clinical outcomes in patients with FLT3-ITD AML

Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore have identified a set of genes, including DNMT3A, that could potentially be used to predict clinical outcomes of patients who suffer from a type of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) associated with an FLT3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) mutation.

8 Jul 2016

Researchers find distinct, non-identical differences among retroviruses

In the most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers in the report that most types of retroviruses have distinct, non-identical virus structures.

6 Jul 2016

Researchers demonstrate simple approach to prove how classes of new drugs work

A collaborative effort by cancer researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and chemists at Boehringer Ingelheim, a pharmaceutical firm, has resulted in the identification of a new drug target in leukemia and creation of a candidate drug that hits the target.

6 Jul 2016

Scientists discover new way to predict risk for delayed recovery in children with AML

The chemotherapy treatments necessary to treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in children can be grueling on the body, and can cause health-related complications during therapy, as well as long down the road after remission.

1 Jul 2016

Kataegis linked to better prognosis for breast cancer patients

Kataegis is a recently discovered phenomenon in which multiple mutations cluster in a few hotspots in a genome. The anomaly was previously found in some cancers, but it has been unclear what role kataegis plays in tumor development and patient outcomes.