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 FUSILLI tool improves gene fusion detection in pediatric leukemia

Researchers have introduced a novel diagnostics method that can more sensitively detect gene fusions in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common type of pediatric cancer, compared to other publicly available fusion detection algorithms.

15 May 2026

Scientists develop a superior diagnostic tool to spot hidden gene fusions in pediatric cancer

Researchers have introduced a novel diagnostic method that can more sensitively detect gene fusions in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common type of pediatric cancer, compared to other publicly available fusion detection algorithms.

14 May 2026

Loss of X chromosome linked to female infertility risk

Chromosomes carry genetic information for biological sex, which generally assigns women two X chromosomes and men XY chromosomes.

12 May 2026

Diverse leukemia stem cells may drive AML relapse after therapy

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the HI-STEM* Stem Cell Institute have deciphered a key mechanism that contributes to treatment failure in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

7 May 2026

Long telomeres linked to higher lymphoma risk in families

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Telomere Clinic at Johns Hopkins have identified a genetic syndrome in which unusually long telomeres - the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes - allow immune cells to remain biologically "younger" for longer than normal, predisposing affected individuals to lymphoma and other cancers.

7 May 2026

New genomic study tracks rare blood disease in children

Aplastic anemia is a rare, life-threatening blood disorder where patients are unable to make enough blood cells due to the immune system's attack on blood stem cells. The condition can progress to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and leukemia. A study led by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with multiple collaborating institutions, used state-of-the-art genomic techniques to profile 619 children and adults with aplastic anemia.

4 May 2026

Food timing may shape how T cells respond to infection and therapy

Short-term nutritional state can reshape T cell metabolism, with post-meal lipid metabolism enhancing T cell metabolic capacity, cytokine production, and persistence after activation. The study identifies triglyceride-rich chylomicrons as key drivers of this effect, suggesting nutritional timing may matter for immune monitoring, vaccination research, and cell-therapy manufacturing.

30 Apr 2026

Gentler treatment improves survival in children with relapsed leukemia

A gentler treatment for children whose leukemia has come back could boost survival and quality of life, a study led by a UCL academic has found.

30 Apr 2026

New CAR T cell design boosts persistence and reduces toxicity

CAR T-cell therapy has transformed the treatment of hematologic malignancies, yet many patients do not achieve lasting benefit – often because the infused cells fail to expand or persist.

30 Apr 2026

Maternal screening could help prevent deadly forms of leukemia

A deadly form of leukemia may be stopped before it ever develops by introducing targeted maternal screening in the United States, according to new research.

30 Apr 2026

From killers to strategists: CAR T cells enter their multifunctional era

A review of 1,801 registered CAR T clinical trials shows that multifunctional designs now account for 533 trials and 33% of new CAR T products submitted for clinical testing in 2025. The field is shifting toward multitargeted, safety-controlled, cytokine-secreting, and checkpoint-modulating CAR T cells, but manufacturing, regulation, and limited clinical outcome data remain key barriers.

30 Apr 2026

Single-cell sequencing reveals why some CAR-T therapies succeed while others fail

Single-cell RNA sequencing is giving researchers a clearer view of why some CAR-T cells persist, expand, kill tumors effectively, or become exhausted. The review synthesizes 44 clinical scRNA-seq studies involving 500 patients and highlights how exhaustion, memory, cytotoxicity, clonal diversity, and metabolism may shape CAR-T responses.

30 Apr 2026

Early life exposure to PFAS associated with common childhood leukemia

Early exposure to PFAS, a group of widely used compounds known as "forever chemicals," was associated with a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, according to University of California, Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health researchers.

27 Apr 2026

New strategy boosts natural killer cells to fight cancer

Scientists have developed a strategy to boost the cancer-fighting power of natural killer (NK) cells, part of the immune system's first line of defense.

24 Apr 2026

Study maps the evolution of myeloid leukemia in children with Down syndrome

It may be possible to identify which pre-cancerous cells will develop into a rare type of blood cancer, due to new research showing that a single genetic change drives myeloid leukemia in children with Down syndrome.

23 Apr 2026

Cancer-linked mutations in the brain cells may drive Alzheimer’s disease

As the body ages, cells naturally accumulate dozens of genetic mutations each year. New research from Boston Children's Hospital, published in Cell, finds that the brain's resident immune cells, microglia, amass mutations in specific cancer-driving genes yet they don't manifest as cancer.

21 Apr 2026