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.

Drug combination targets pre-leukemia stem cells

Your body's blood cells are manufactured by hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow. But just as regular, mature cells can become cancerous, so too can stem cells.

12 Sep 2018

New study links stress with biological disease markers in leukemia patients

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who feel more stress also have more cancer cells in their blood and elevated levels of three other markers of more advanced disease.

12 Sep 2018

Scientists develop first DNA-based test for predicting risk of leukemia relapse

A group of Canadian and Korean scientists and physicians have developed the first DNA-based test that allows them to tell which patients will relapse after receiving chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, for their acute myeloid leukemia, or AML.

11 Sep 2018

Researchers identify new cancerous cells responsible for acute myeloid leukemia relapse

McMaster University researchers have provided evidence of new cancerous cells they have termed cancer regenerating cells, which are responsible for the return of acute myeloid leukemia after remission.

10 Sep 2018

Cancer Australia releases new data on childhood cancer stage at diagnosis

In a world first, national data on childhood cancer stage at diagnosis* has been released, showing that a high proportion of the most common childhood cancers are diagnosed at a limited stage, before they have spread to other parts of the body.

10 Sep 2018

Verastem doses first patient in Phase I/II clinical trial of duvelisib in combination with venetoclax

Verastem, Inc., operating as Verastem Oncology, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients, today announced dosing of the first patient in a multicenter Phase I/II clinical trial at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center of duvelisib in combination with venetoclax in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma.

6 Sep 2018

New system accelerates discovery of chemical compounds that inhibit enzyme implicated in cancers

Researchers at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a system to accelerate the discovery of chemical compounds that inhibit an enzyme implicated in a number of cancers.

6 Sep 2018

Research shows new way to target drug delivery for brain tumors

A person's brainstem controls some of the body's most important functions, including heart beat, respiration, blood pressure and swallowing. Tumor growth in this part of the brain is therefore twice as devastating.

5 Sep 2018

Researchers identify enzyme that plays vital role in sexual development of fungi

Biologists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen have gained new insights into specific enzymes that effect the specialization of fungal cells.

5 Sep 2018

Scientists identify 'Achilles heel' of anaplastic large-cell lymphomas

Anaplastic large-cell lymphomas are rare cancers of the white blood cells. New research from the international ERIA consortium, led by scientists in Vienna, has now shown that the same signaling pathway is essential to the growth of cancer cells in various forms of ALCL: TYK2 (tyrosine kinase 2, an important component of the immune system) prevents apoptotic cell death by increasing the production of Mcl1, a special type of protein belonging to the BCL2 family.

3 Sep 2018

FDA accepts Bristol-Myers Squibb’s application for Sprycel for treating pediatric leukemia

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted its supplemental Biologics License Application for Sprycel (dasatinib) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

30 Aug 2018

Californians living longer with cancer — some longer than others

As he grew older, Dale Kunitomi paid closer attention to his health — and to his doctor's advice. When he noticed rectal bleeding in 2010, he went to see his physician, who ordered a colonoscopy.

30 Aug 2018

Researchers develop new approach to treating cancer using enzyme therapy

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a new approach to treating cancer using enzyme therapy.

29 Aug 2018

Researchers develop 3D map of the human genome

Researchers have developed a way of mapping the positions of genes within cells to understand more about how the genome is organized.

28 Aug 2018

Researchers launch clinical trial to assess new drug combination against metastatic breast cancers

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have launched a phase Ib clinical trial to assess the safety and tolerability of cirmtuzumab, in combination with standard chemotherapy, to treat metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer that cannot be surgically removed.

28 Aug 2018

New personalized cellular therapy approved for use in the European Union

The European Commission has approved a personalized cellular therapy developed at the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center, making it the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy permitted for use in the European Union in two distinct indications.

27 Aug 2018

HU researchers develop new biological drug that may cure acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia is one of the most aggressive cancers. While other cancers have benefited from new treatments, there has been no encouraging news for most leukemia patients for the past 40 years. Until now.

24 Aug 2018

Researchers work to create humanized mouse model to test immunotherapies

If a new anti-cancer drug shows promise in a Petri dish, often the next step is to test the drug's effect in mice. This system tends to work well with drugs that directly target cancer, but breaks down with immunotherapies.

24 Aug 2018

Scientists work towards solving mystery of incurable blood diseases

Scientists may be on the road to solving the mystery of a group of mostly incurable blood diseases called myelodysplastic syndromes, which cause people to have immature, malfunctioning bone marrow cells that fuel a diverse set of health problems and can lead to leukemia.

23 Aug 2018

Researchers find STAT3 as therapeutic target for chronic active EBV infection

Tokyo Medical and Dental University study shows that ruxolitinib-induced inhibition of STAT3 activity blocks survival and reduces pro-inflammatory cytokine production in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected clonally proliferating T- or NK-cells in Chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection.

20 Aug 2018