Acute Myeloid Leukemia News and Research

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Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of immature blast cells in the bone marrow. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society estimates that over 13,000 new cases of AML were diagnosed and approximately 9,000 deaths from AML occurred in the U.S. during 2007. AML is generally a disease of older adults, and the median age of a patient diagnosed with AML is about 67 years. A majority of elderly patients are not considered candidates for standard induction therapy or decline therapy, resulting in an acute need for new treatment options.

FDA approves new AML drug after clinical testing at Dana-Farber

A targeted drug whose clinical testing was led by Richard Stone, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has become the first new treatment for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in more than 25 years.

5 May 2017

Study suggests how existing and emerging immunotherapy treatments could be successful for sarcomas

Sarcomas- cancers of the connective tissues like muscles, joints, fat and bone - come in dozens of subtypes. Clinical trial results have been mixed when treating these diverse tumors with immunotherapy, a targeted therapeutic strategy that has success in other cancers.

3 May 2017

Formaldehyde exposure not linked to leukemia, research shows

Some scientific reports have a profound impact on government policy. Sometimes, however, there are significant shortcomings in the research - yet the policy impact continues.

2 May 2017

FDA approves new drug and chemotherapy combination for treatment of adult patients with AML

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Rydapt (midostaurin) for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who have a specific genetic mutation called FLT3, in combination with chemotherapy.

28 Apr 2017

Second cancers are far deadlier in younger people than older adults

Second cancers in children and adolescents and young adults are far deadlier than they are in older adults and may partially account for the relatively poor outcomes of cancer patients ages 15-39 overall, a new study by UC Davis researchers has found.

20 Apr 2017

Global inequalities in survival for childhood leukemia still persist in some countries, study finds

Although global inequalities in survival from childhood leukemia have narrowed, they still persist with five-year survival in some countries nearly twice as high as in others for children diagnosed during 2005-2009, according to a study published in The Lancet Haematology.

13 Apr 2017

Scientists discover potential trigger for MDS in children with rare genetic disorder

Myelodysplastic syndrome is an umbrella term used to describe disorders characterized by the bone marrow's inability to produce normal blood cells.

12 Apr 2017

Scientists show p300 protein may stop MDS from developing into leukemia

Scientists at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown that p300, a protein that increases gene expression by attaching acetyl molecules to DNA, may stop myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) from developing into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The study was published in the journal Leukemia.

27 Mar 2017

FDA approves new maintenance therapy for recurrent cancers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zejula (niraparib) for the maintenance treatment (intended to delay cancer growth) of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer, whose tumors have completely or partially shrunk (complete or partial response, respectively) in response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

27 Mar 2017

New study correlates 80 cancer-related gene mutations with 34 AML subgroups

A large, new study of adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) correlates 80 cancer-related gene mutations with five subtypes of AML, which are defined by the presence of specific chromosomal abnormalities. The findings might help guide mutation testing and treatment decisions in the future.

21 Mar 2017

Early death from pediatric cancer subtypes more likely to happen than previously reported

Treatments for childhood cancers have improved to the point that 5-year survival rates are over 80 percent. However, one group has failed to benefit from these improvements, namely children who die so soon after diagnosis that they are not able to receive treatment, or who receive treatment so late in the course of their disease that it is destined to fail.

8 Mar 2017

Research findings could guide development of potent combination therapies for leukemia

New findings from Rockefeller University researchers could guide the development of potent combination therapies that deliver more effective and durable treatment of leukemia.

7 Mar 2017

Clinical study seeks to examine new combination therapy for treating AML patients

A pair of drugs that may be a one-two punch needed to help combat acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer that kills nearly three-fourths of patients within five years of diagnosis, is the focus of a new multi-center clinical trial that will enroll patients at three sites across the U.S.

7 Mar 2017

Study establishes ENL protein as potential drug target for acute myeloid leukemia

Anyone who uses an employee badge to enter a building may understand how a protein called ENL opens new possibilities for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a fast-growing cancer of bone marrow and blood cells and the second most common type of leukemia in children and adults.

2 Mar 2017

Researchers looking at ways to target lingering cancer stem cells that cause disease relapse

Chemotherapy treatment targets and kills cancer cells in the body. However, even after treatment, some cancer cells may remain in the patient's system undetected.

2 Mar 2017

Fred Hutch scientists make important step in identifying specific T cells to fight against cancer

A new discovery by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle makes an important step in identifying which specific T cells within the diverse army of a person's immune system are best suited to fight cancer.

25 Feb 2017

Targeting tumor suppressor protein could be effective treatment for some AML patients, study suggests

Researchers in Germany have discovered that a tumor suppressor protein thought to prevent acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can actually promote a particularly deadly form of the disease.

17 Feb 2017

Young adults, adolescents with acute leukemia treated at specialized cancer centers have higher survival rates

Adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia treated at specialized cancer centers have significantly higher survival rates than their peers who are not treated at specialized cancer centers, according to a recent study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

17 Feb 2017

Researchers create novel model that reveals cellular, molecular events driving leukemia progression

Mount Sinai researchers have created a novel model that shows the step-by-step progression from normal blood cells to leukemia and its precursor diseases, creating replicas of the stages of the disease to test the efficacy of therapeutic interventions at each stage, according to a study to be published in Cell Stem Cell.

16 Feb 2017

New drug offers hope for patients with bladder cancer

A bladder cancer drug discovered and developed at The University of Kansas Cancer Center is set to become its first cancer drug to go from bench to bedside.

10 Feb 2017