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.

CLL aggressiveness linked to genetic variability

The genetic variability of a tumour could be a predictor for its aggressiveness: the greater the variability in gene expression, the more aggressive the tumour is likely to be. This is the hypothesis that the CNIO Structural Biology and Biocomputing Programme, led by Alfonso Valencia, is testing, after their findings on chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), now published in the journal Genome Medicine.

6 Feb 2015

Chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatment may reactivate HBV

Individuals previously infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) who receive chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatment may be at risk of reactivating the disease according to a summary of report from the Emerging Trends Conference, "Reactivation of Hepatitis B," and published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

6 Feb 2015

Breakthrough therapies for blood cancers may provide reasonable value for money spent

Amid the growing debate about the high price of powerful new drugs in the United States, a recent analysis suggests that breakthrough therapies for blood cancers may, in many cases and with some important caveats, provide reasonable value for money spent.

6 Feb 2015

Breakthrough blood cancer therapies may provide reasonable value for money spent

6 Feb 2015

New study links cell communication pathway to common brain tumors found in children

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers links a well-known cell communication pathway called Notch to one of the most common -- but overall still rare -- brain tumors found in children.

6 Feb 2015

Three Keck Medicine scientists of USC receive $4.3 million from CIRM for stem cell research

Three scientists from Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California have won grants exceeding $4.3 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for research that includes creating a temporary liver for transplant patients, finding novel ways to treat immune disorders and blood diseases and developing a new animal model for exploring diseases like heart failure, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

5 Feb 2015

Anti-viral immune cells could inhibit bone marrow transplant infections caused by CMV

Bone marrow transplantation is a life-saving therapy for patients with blood cancers like leukemia or lymphoma. However, the depletion of the patient's immune system prior to transplantation can put patients at risk of for an infection by a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) that can be life threatening in these immune-compromised individuals.

4 Feb 2015

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia invited to Obama's announcement of Precision Medicine Initiative

At the invitation of the White House, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) sent two special guests to President Barack Obama's announcement today of the Precision Medicine Initiative: Dr. Steven M. Altschuler, CHOP's chief executive officer, and 9-year-old patient Emily Whitehead, now cancer-free thanks to a personalized treatment called T cell therapy, developed at CHOP.

2 Feb 2015

Study identifies genetic basis of drug toxicity in leukemia patients of East Asian ancestry

January 26, 2015) About 10 percent of young leukemia patients of East Asian ancestry inherit a gene variation that is associated with reduced tolerance of a drug that is indispensable for curing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer.

2 Feb 2015

Two researchers receive Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research

Researchers Irving L. Weissman and Joan Massagué have won this year's Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research: Weissman, from Stanford University, for his work on healthy and sick stem cells; Massagué, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, for his research on metastatic spread.

31 Jan 2015

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation names 15 new Damon Runyon Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 15 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review. The recipients of this prestigious, four-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country.

31 Jan 2015

FDA’s approval of ibrutinib to treat Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia receives praises from LLS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to treat patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia(WM) is a significant advance for patients with this rare blood cancer.

31 Jan 2015

Inhibiting CDK6 protein prevents leukemic stem cells

Despite enormous progress in cancer therapy, many patients still relapse because their treatment addresses the symptoms of the disease rather than the cause, the so-called stem cells. Work in the group of Veronika Sexl at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna has given a tantalizing clue to a solution.

28 Jan 2015

Yale researcher receives 2015 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine

A Spanish foundation has awarded a major scientific prize to Yale researcher Joseph Schlessinger and two colleagues in recognition of their work leading to the first personalized treatments for cancer. The 2015 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine from the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation includes a €400,000 cash prize.

27 Jan 2015

CHLA researchers develop new protein-based therapy against drug-resistant leukemia cells

Resistance of leukemia cells to contemporary chemotherapy is one of the most formidable obstacles to treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. Now researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles have designed and developed a new protein-based therapy they believe will prove highly effective against drug-resistant leukemia cells.

27 Jan 2015

New study focuses on improving Iowa healthcare exchange

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease released a public opinion poll of Iowa health care leaders and a new study analyzing the impact of increased cost sharing on patient adherence to prescription medications. The PFCD is a nationwide coalition working to educate policy makers and the public on the costs of chronic diseases.

23 Jan 2015

ASCO announces cancer Advance of the Year

The American Society of Clinical Oncology for the first time announced its cancer Advance of the Year: the transformation of treatment for the most common form of adult leukemia. Until now, many patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have had few effective treatment options. Four newly approved therapies, however, are poised to dramatically improve the outlook for patients with the disease.

20 Jan 2015

Johnson & Johnson announces sales of $18.3 billion for Q4 2014

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $18.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2014, a decrease of 0.6% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Operational results increased 3.9% and the negative impact of currency was 4.5%. Domestic sales increased 7.4%.

20 Jan 2015

Celator Pharmaceuticals' CPX-351 receives FDA Fast Track designation for secondary AML treatment

Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that is transforming the science of combination therapy and developing products to improve patient outcomes in cancer, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track designation for CPX-351 (cytarabine:daunorubicin) for the treatment of elderly patients with secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

20 Jan 2015

CAR T-cell therapy enters into Phase I clinical trial

Cancer fighting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, developed in the Sentman laboratory of Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, are taking the next step into a Phase I clinical trial beginning early in 2015.

15 Jan 2015

Leukemia News and Research

Further Reading

CLL aggressiveness linked to genetic variability

Chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatment may reactivate HBV

Breakthrough therapies for blood cancers may provide reasonable value for money spent

Breakthrough blood cancer therapies may provide reasonable value for money spent

New study links cell communication pathway to common brain tumors found in children

Three Keck Medicine scientists of USC receive $4.3 million from CIRM for stem cell research

Anti-viral immune cells could inhibit bone marrow transplant infections caused by CMV

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia invited to Obama's announcement of Precision Medicine Initiative

Study identifies genetic basis of drug toxicity in leukemia patients of East Asian ancestry

Two researchers receive Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation names 15 new Damon Runyon Fellows

FDA’s approval of ibrutinib to treat Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia receives praises from LLS

Inhibiting CDK6 protein prevents leukemic stem cells

Yale researcher receives 2015 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine

CHLA researchers develop new protein-based therapy against drug-resistant leukemia cells

New study focuses on improving Iowa healthcare exchange

ASCO announces cancer Advance of the Year

Johnson & Johnson announces sales of $18.3 billion for Q4 2014

Celator Pharmaceuticals' CPX-351 receives FDA Fast Track designation for secondary AML treatment

CAR T-cell therapy enters into Phase I clinical trial

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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