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.

NCCN's first patient and caregiver resource focused on childhood leukemia

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network today announced the publication of the organization's first patient and caregiver resource focused on a childhood cancer type.

23 Sep 2020

Research uncovers potential cause of neurotoxicity due to immunotherapy

New research has uncovered the previously unknown presence of CD19 -- a B cell molecule targeted by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy to treat leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma -- in brain cells that protect the blood brain barrier (BBB).

21 Sep 2020

Researchers identify new path to defeating chronic myelogenous leukemia

Researchers have identified a second path to defeating chronic myelogenous leukemia, which tends to affect older adults, even in the face of resistance to existing drugs.

18 Sep 2020

S-pseudotyped VLPs offer promising COVID-19 vaccine platform

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on a Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) platform that produces VLPs expressing the important spike antigen of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

18 Sep 2020

SMART researchers discover a new way to manufacture human red blood cells

Researchers from Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, have discovered a new way to manufacture human red blood cells (RBCs) that cuts the culture time by half compared to existing methods and uses novel sorting and purification methods that are faster, more precise and less costly.

14 Sep 2020

Inherited variation in GATA3 gene is linked to relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are investigating the inherited genetics of childhood leukemia and how particular gene variations can affect treatment outcomes.

11 Sep 2020

Study reviews recent insights into the pathogenesis of feline leukemia virus infection

Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a gammaretrovirus that occurs worldwide in domestic cats, as well as small wild cats. It is associated with various serious, and sometimes fatal, diseases including anaemia, immunosuppression and certain cancers

10 Sep 2020

Convalescent plasma could be an effective treatment for children with COVID-19

Early findings from researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) show that convalescent plasma appears to be a safe and possibly effective treatment for children with life-threatening cases of COVID-19.

9 Sep 2020

MD Anderson and Astex Pharmaceuticals partner to accelerate clinical evaluation of leukemia therapies

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., based in Tokyo, Japan, today announce a strategic collaboration agreement aimed at accelerating the clinical evaluation of Astex's pipeline of products for patients with certain types of leukemia, including myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

8 Sep 2020

Acne drug could be a potential treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a leading cause of heart failure, affecting 1 in 250 people. The disease is characterised by an increase in size of the left ventricle of the heart.

8 Sep 2020

Why Black aging matters, too

Old. Chronically ill. Black. People who fit this description are more likely to die from COVID-19 than any other group in the country.

3 Sep 2020

Honeybee venom induces cancer cell death in aggressive breast cancer

The new study, published in the journal Nature Precision Oncology, highlights how bees can help combat breast cancer. The research team found that when the venom’s main component, when mixed with existing chemotherapy drugs, reduced tumor growth in laboratory mice.

2 Sep 2020

Exponential rise in COVID-19 hospitalization risk with age due to waning T cell immunity

The age-related increase in the risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19 mirrors earlier patterns seen with infections. Such trends may help understand the mechanisms underlying the clinical feature. A recent study published in the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 shows the effect of age and sex on COVID-19 hospitalization rates in the USA and helps understand how immune function is involved in this pandemic.

2 Sep 2020

No safe level of caffeine consumption for pregnant women

A new study shows that caffeine consumption by pregnant mothers could harm the fetus and baby. The new study titled, "Maternal caffeine consumption and pregnancy outcomes: a narrative review with implications for advice to mothers and mothers-to-be," was published in the latest issue of the journal British Medical Journal Evidence Based Medicine.

26 Aug 2020

Blood cancer patients are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, study finds

A newly published study led by the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham has found that, compared to other cancers, patients with blood cancers are more vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

25 Aug 2020

Using engineered off-the-shelf therapeutic T cells to fight cancer

Personalized cancer treatments are no longer just options of the future. In the past few years, researchers have made significant progress in 'teaching' the body's immune T cells to recognize and kill specific cancer cells, and human clinical trials have shown that this approach can successfully eliminate tumors.

20 Aug 2020

Researchers develop vaccine for human herpesvirus 6B

A research group led by Professor MORI Yasuko (of the Division of Clinical Virology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine) has revealed that the HHV-6B glycoprotein complex gH/gL/gQ1/gQ2 is an effective vaccine candidate for human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B).

20 Aug 2020