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.

New gene signature predicts immunotherapy success for bone marrow cancers

A team led by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the HI-STEM Stem Cell Institute, and Medical Clinic V at Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) has characterized T cells in the bone marrow in cases of multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia: A specific group of tumor-reactive T cells can recognize and, in principle, fight cancer cells, but is often not sufficiently activated.

10 Aug 2026

Researchers find a new genetic vulnerability in acute myeloid leukemia

A study published in Nature Cell Biology reports a new vulnerability in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that might lead to novel therapies to treat this cancer while minimizing harm to normal cells.

7 Aug 2026

Exhausted T cells balance graft tolerance and infection risk

A comprehensive new review examines the complex role of T cell exhaustion in organ transplantation, highlighting how this dysfunctional immune state can both promote graft tolerance and create vulnerabilities to infection and malignancy.

7 Aug 2026

New study reveals genetic drivers of inherited bone marrow failure syndrome

Inherited bone marrow failure syndrome, or IBMFS, describes a group of disorders in which inherited genetic abnormalities impair the bone marrow's ability to produce sufficient healthy blood cells.

6 Aug 2026

Scalable education program protects transplant survivors from elevated skin cancer risk

Experts at City of Hope, one of the nation's largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations, are shining a spotlight on the risk of skin cancer faced by hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) survivors, as well as the need for early detection.

6 Aug 2026

Experimental drug CS18 shows promise for overcoming cancer treatment resistance

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a drug called CS18 that disrupts the ability of cancer cells to survive therapy. The findings, published in Science Advances, support exploring the possibility of using CS18 to treat human cancer in the future.

5 Aug 2026

Blocking ZFP36L2 protein may disrupt colorectal cancer metastatic growth

Digestion is hard on the cells that line the human gut, and they are constantly being shed and replaced. This renewal is driven by a population of tireless stem cells.

5 Aug 2026

Novel drug puts cancer cells under extreme metabolic stress

Cancer cells have a voracious appetite for sugar-using it to fuel their rapid growth. This is why many scientists have tried to develop drugs that block cancer cells' metabolism by cutting off their sugar supply.

5 Aug 2026

Child-friendly lung test identifies subtle abnormalities before stem cell transplant

As spirometry requires coordinated deep breathing and can be challenging for children to perform, researchers from the USA, as part of the TRANSPIRE study investigating lung complications in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), explored the potential of oscillometry, a simple and child-friendly lung function test.

3 Aug 2026

QUANTUM trial tests immune-targeting approach for primary plasma cell leukemia

The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology today announced the activation of The QUANTUM Trial (Alliance A062401), a clinical study designed to test a novel, immune-targeting approach for patients newly diagnosed with primary plasma cell leukemia (PCL).

30 Jul 2026

Rare BTK mutation drives resistance to targeted therapies for blood cancer

Scientists at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and collaborators have uncovered a rare genetic mutation that enables some blood cancers to evade both approved Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors and newer BTK degraders, a finding that could help shape the next generation of therapies for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and related malignancies.

27 Jul 2026

Iowa State study identifies potential new target for leukemia treatment

In leukemia's most aggressive forms, the blood cell factories in our bone marrow falter. Instead of dividing and multiplying at their usual prolific pace, generating hundreds of billions of new cells daily, some precursor cells stall out at an immature stage.

24 Jul 2026

Study reveals regional disparities in Brazilian childhood leukemia mortality

An international study involving LMU found regional differences in childhood lymphoid leukemia mortality across Brazil.

23 Jul 2026

Senolytic drugs rejuvenate blood stem cells in sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease causes premature aging of blood stem cells, which scientists may be able to address with a special class of drugs, according to a new study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

22 Jul 2026

New AI score enhances monitoring of myelodysplastic neoplasms

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have developed a new AI-based method to assess patients with a form of blood cancer called myelodysplastic neoplasms.

20 Jul 2026

Researchers uncover new T cell attack mechanism against acute myeloid leukemia

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a new way in which T cells attack acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, which may help explain why AML is particularly sensitive to immune-based treatments and could guide the development of future cancer immunotherapies.

15 Jul 2026

Self-assembling antibody drugs successfully target multiple cancer receptors

Modern anticancer medications that combine tumor-fighting drugs with proteins that specifically target cancer cells are a relatively new class of drug, often given to patients for whom standard chemotherapy has not worked.

15 Jul 2026

Weight loss and anti-inflammatory drugs combine to combat leukemia

Obesity can act as fuel for leukemia, according to a study led by Indiana University School of Medicine scientists.

14 Jul 2026

Structural study identifies unexpected cancer-regulating functions of MLL4 protein

The epigenetic modifier MLL4 has an unassuming name-the 4, for instance, indicates it's just one in a family of such modifiers.

13 Jul 2026

New therapy targets Hippo pathway to fight treatment-resistant acute myeloid leukemia

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that an investigational epigenetic therapy remained effective in treatment-resistant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) through activating the Hippo pathway, a tumor-suppressing pathway linked to cancer growth and drug resistance.

13 Jul 2026