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.

A loss in DNS repair function causes acute myeloid leukemia relapse

A University of Kentucky research team reports that loss of an important DNA repair function, called DNA mismatch repair (MMR), is responsible for refractory/relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

4 Feb 2008

Leukemia relapse stems from DNA repair function loss

A University of Kentucky research team reports that loss of an important DNA repair function, called DNA mismatch repair (MMR), is responsible for refractory/relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

30 Jan 2008

Kidney cancer drug attacks a major type of acute myeloid leukemia

A drug used to treat kidney cancer also targets a genetic mutation active in about one third of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common and lethal form of adult leukemia, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Jan. 29 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

30 Jan 2008

Link between microRNA expression patterns and poor outcomes for colon cancer

Preliminary research has found an association between certain microRNA expression patterns and poor survival and treatment outcomes for colon cancer, according to a study in the January 30 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

30 Jan 2008

Stanford study finds transplant patient thrives 2 years after stopping immunosuppressive drugs

Luck smiled on Larry Kowalski when his brother agreed to donate a kidney Kowalski needed to live.

24 Jan 2008

Debate over safety of gene therapy trials focuses on issue of informed consent

Can a patient who agrees to participate in a safety study of a gene therapy protocol give truly informed consent and understand the risks involved when the consent forms are highly technical and the physician or institution seeking their consent has a stake in the study and its outcome?

23 Jan 2008

Discovery major step forward in treating leukemia

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have discovered for the first time a pathway that makes cancerous leukaemia cells resistant to treatment.

21 Jan 2008

Culprit cell for childhood leukaemia discovered

A study by British researchers of twin girls has identified a rogue cell that is the fundamental cause of childhood leukaemia.

20 Jan 2008

Discovery opens door to 'personalized' asthma therapy

In the last few years, "personalized medicine" using genetic or other molecular biology-based diagnostic tests to customize treatment for a particular patient has emerged as a powerful new tool for health care.

18 Jan 2008

Cancer Research UK invests 10 million pounds in drug discovery

Project leaders at Imperial College London, University of Oxford, University of Strathclyde and The School of Pharmacy in London will each receive 500k pounds per year for five years to develop anti-cancer drugs.

17 Jan 2008

Molecules might identify high-risk acute-leukemia patients

New research suggests that certain small molecules used by cells to control the proteins they make might also help doctors identify adult acute-leukemia patients who are likely to respond poorly to therapy.

16 Jan 2008

FDA extends review of Genasense NDA appeal in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genta Incorporated has announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended its review of Genta's appeal of the non- approvable decision for a New Drug Application (NDA) that proposed the use of Genasense (oblimersen sodium injection) plus chemotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

15 Jan 2008

RNA silences cancer suppressor gene

One way cancer arises is when tumor suppressor genes that normally keep cell growth in check are mysteriously turned off.

10 Jan 2008

Genmab announces HuMax-CD32b pre-clinical program

Genmab A/S has announced a new pre-clinical antibody program called HuMax-CD32b. This fully human IgG1,k antibody targets the CD32b receptor found on immune cells and hematological tumors.

7 Jan 2008

Two genes are important key to regulating immune response

A research team at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City has identified two genes that may be crucial to the production of an immune system cytokine called interleukin-10 (IL-10)

2 Jan 2008

Anthracyclines improve survival in HER2-positive breast cancer patients

Treatment with the class of chemotherapy drugs called anthracyclines improves survival in women with HER2-positive breast cancer who have previously had surgery, but it may not offer any benefit for women with HER2-negative tumors, according to a study published online December 25 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

28 Dec 2007

Boy in a bubble gets leukaemia after gene therapy

A child who was born with a rare immunodeficient condition has developed leukaemia as a result of gene therapy he received at Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London.

19 Dec 2007

Plant constituent with selective effect on cancer cells

The substance wogonin triggers the death program apoptosis in tumor cells, while it has virtually no effect on healthy cells.

18 Dec 2007

Scientists identify and repress breast cancer stem cells in mouse tissue

By manipulating highly specific gene-regulating molecules called microRNAs, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) report that they have succeeded in singling out and repressing stem-like cells in mouse breast tissue - cells that are widely thought to give rise to cancer.

18 Dec 2007

Sunitinib may be associated with cardiac toxicity

Another FDA-approved targeted cancer drug, sunitinib (SutentTM, Pfizer), may be associated with cardiac toxicity, report researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston), and Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia).

17 Dec 2007