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.

Study uses computational framework to identify tamoxifen resistance markers in ER+ breast cancer

One common challenge of cancer therapy is when cancer cells don't respond to a drug that is usually able to kill or weaken them, known as treatment resistance.

26 Jan 2021

Anti-emetic drug offers a promising approach to treat chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) results from a degeneration of the hematopoietic stem cells (leukemia stem cells), thereby leading to the uncontrolled formation of specific white blood cells, the so-called granulocytes.

26 Jan 2021

Prostate cancer: Drug-resistant, metastasis-causing cells can produce exponentially growing tumors

The cover for issue 1 of Oncotarget features Figure 2, "Results in clinical trials," published in "Drug resistant cells with very large proliferative potential grow exponentially in metastatic prostate cancer" by Blagoev, et al. which reported that most metastatic cancers develop drug resistance during treatment and continue to grow, driven by a subpopulation of cancer cells unresponsive to the therapy being administered.

26 Jan 2021

Drug intervention may prevent heart damage caused by chemotherapy

There could be an intervention on the horizon to help prevent heart damage caused by the common chemotherapy drug doxorubicin, new research suggests.

26 Jan 2021

New maintenance treatment for AML shows strong benefit for patients

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common form of acute leukemia in adults, that has gone into remission following initial chemotherapy remain in remission longer and have improved overall survival when they are given a pill form of the cancer drug azacitidine as a maintenance treatment, according to a randomized, international phase 3 clinical trial for which Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian are trial sites.

22 Jan 2021

Infusion of convalescent blood plasma benefits patient with severe COVID-19

A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized with severe COVID-19 disease, 33 days after the onset of symptoms.

22 Jan 2021

Modified version of CAR T-cell therapy shows promise in targeting neuroblastoma

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy--CAR T--has revolutionized leukemia treatment. Unfortunately, the therapy has not been effective for treating solid tumors including childhood cancers such as neuroblastoma.

22 Jan 2021

New study helps understand molecular profile of tumors in cancer patients

Researchers from the University Hospitals in Zurich and Basel, ETH Zurich, University of Zurich and the pharmaceutical company Roche have set out to improve cancer diagnostics by developing a platform of state-of-the-art molecular biology methods.

21 Jan 2021

Investigational combo therapy shows promise in treating TP53 mutant MDS and AML patients

Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are rare hematologic malignancies of the bone marrow.

21 Jan 2021

Eliminating key gene could revive exhausted immune cells to battle solid tumors

Eliminating a single gene can turn exhausted cancer-fighting immune cells known as CD8+ T cells back into refreshed soldiers that can continue to battle malignant tumors, a new study led by UT Southwestern researchers suggests.

20 Jan 2021

Researchers identify new drug combination that can treat acute myeloid leukemia

Scientists have identified two drugs that are potent against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when combined, but only weakly effective when used alone.

19 Jan 2021

Study: NTRK fusions are far more frequently seen in pediatric tumors

In a large study of pediatric cancer patients, researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have analyzed the frequency, fusion partners, and clinical outcome of neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) fusions, which are clinical biomarkers that identify patients suitable for treatment with FDA-approved TRK inhibitors.

16 Jan 2021

5 reasons to wear a mask even after you’re vaccinated

As an emergency physician, Dr. Eugenia South was in the first group of people to receive a covid vaccine. She received her second dose last week — even before President-elect Joe Biden.

15 Jan 2021

Researchers investigate protein phosphatase to identify new treatments for cancer, other diseases

The abundant presence of an enzyme known as low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMWPTP) in tumor cells has long been considered an indicator of cancer aggressiveness and metastatic potential.

13 Jan 2021

MDC researchers develop a potent weapon against lymphomas

MDC researchers have developed a new approach to CAR T-cell therapy. The team has shown in Nature Communications that the procedure is very effective, especially when it comes to fighting follicular lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common type of blood cancer in adults.

11 Jan 2021

IU research findings could prevent common complication of blood stem cell transplantation in leukemia

Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center published promising findings today in the New England Journal of Medicine on preventing a common complication to lifesaving blood stem cell transplantation in leukemia.

7 Jan 2021

Seniors face crushing drug costs as Congress stalls on capping Medicare out-of-pockets

Sharon Clark is able to get her life-sustaining cancer drug, Pomalyst — priced at more than $18,000 for a 28-day supply — only because of the generosity of patient assistance foundations.

4 Jan 2021

New cell therapy can boost immunotherapy against breast cancer

Boosting immune system T cells to effectively attack solid tumors, such as breast cancers, can be done by adding a small molecule to a treatment procedure called chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy, according to a study by researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

4 Jan 2021

COVID-19 pandemic highlights the risk of using systemic corticosteroids

Healthcare workers in tropical and sub-tropical settings where strongyloidiasis is prevalent or caring for patients who have travelled to such areas, need to maintain a high level of awareness about the use of corticosteroids, including when this class of anti-inflammatories is given to patients suspected of infection with SARS-CoV-2.

17 Dec 2020

Study shows benefits of integrated palliative and oncology care for patients with advanced AML

A first-of-its-kind intervention integrating palliative care early in the course of cancer therapy for patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a highly aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow, resulted in substantial improvements in patients' quality of life, mood and end-of-life care, a team of investigators has found.

17 Dec 2020