Leukemia News and Research

RSS

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 study shows tiny RNAs intimately associated with cancer

In discoveries that may open a new chapter in understanding and diagnosing cancer, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators and their colleagues have established that tiny microRNAs provide a novel genetic route to the initiation of some forms of cancer.

9 Jun 2005

Researchers link aberrant 'microRNA' expression to human cancer

Over the past few years, scientists have discovered that a new class of genetic regulators called "microRNAs" influences normal human growth and development. Now, researchers have found that microRNAs also play an important role in human cancer. The findings are published in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature (June 9).

8 Jun 2005

Gene therapy for arthritis is both feasible and safe

Gene therapy for arthritis and other non-terminal, debilitating conditions and diseases is both feasible and safe, report researchers who conducted the world's first such test on the approach in patients with advanced rheumatoid arthritis.

6 Jun 2005

Link between childhood leukemia and power lines at the most, slight

In the on-going debate over whether proximity to high voltage power lines may be linked to childhood leukemia, researchers have found the association remains "slight" and "the relation may be due to chance."

5 Jun 2005

Childhood cancer and distance from high-voltage power lines

UK Health Protection Agency response to British Medical Journal paper examining the incidence of childhood cancer in England and Wales and how it relates to distance from major high-voltage overhead power lines has been published.

3 Jun 2005

Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines - results may be entirely due to chance

Cancer Research UK comments on the BMJ paper "Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines in England and Wales: a case control study."

3 Jun 2005

Genetics may play a role in the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs

Today, the most common childhood cancer is cured in about 80 percent of patients; only forty years ago, this number was closer to five percent. In efforts to further increase the survival rate, researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Chicago studied how an individual's genetics might play a role in the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.

3 Jun 2005

Children living close to high voltage overhead power lines at birth may be at an increased risk of leukaemia

The electric power system produces extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields, and since 1979 there has been concern that these fields may be associated with cancer. In 2001, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified extremely low frequency magnetic fields as "possibly carcinogenic" while others, such as the UK Childhood Cancer Study, dispute the risk.

3 Jun 2005

Early surgical removal of the spleen combined with antiangiogenic cancer therapy may halt the progression of leukemia

The research, published today in Blood, is the first to show the combination of two factors secreted from the environment of the spleen is important in the promotion of leukemia.

1 Jun 2005

Emergence of cancer as a major cause of death among children in developing regions of the world is not being adequately addressed

This growing rate of pediatric cancer is occurring as the number of children dying from infectious diseases is being reduced through the efforts of the World Health Organization and international charities, the researchers say.

29 May 2005

No link found between hair dyes and cancers

The growing worldwide concern about a possible link between hair dyes and some forms of cancer, which was further fuelled by one recent study showing an apparent positive relationship, prompted a European Commission safety panel to call for an urgent review.

24 May 2005

Cyclophosphamide may be a possible therapy for scleroderma

A drug that suppresses the immune system and reduces inflammation has been shown to be effective in treating lung disease associated with the devastating connective tissue disease scleroderma, according to results presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 23.

24 May 2005

Long-term outcomes studied for stem cell transplant recipients

Improved techniques and supportive care have resulted in a growing number of long-term survivors of stem cell transplants, though little is known about the impact transplants have on patients’ lives long after treatment.

23 May 2005

Novel way of administering an anti-cancer drug to bone-marrow transplant patients using continuous infusion

The new method achieves more predictable, stable drug levels in patients than the current method and could eventually allow doctors to more accurately adjust doses to accommodate individual differences in metabolism, thus increasing treatment effectiveness while avoiding side effects, said University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.

20 May 2005

Study holds implications for gene therapy and stem cell biology

The study, conducted by scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and Hannover Medical School and Hamburg University in Germany, reveals important evidence that tells us more about how blood forming stem cells regenerate. On the other hand, scientists offer caution in regards to the side effects associated with genetic engineering of stem cells.

20 May 2005

Lower doses of chemo just as effective in childhood cancers

In the latest research into treating a common childhood cancer, paediatric oncologist Allen Chauvenet, is optimistic that the long-term side effects that survivors experience as they grow into adulthood can be reduced.

17 May 2005

More health benefits from green tea

Green tea appears to protect against cancer by affecting a "promiscuous" protein that pharmaceutical experts are already targeting in an effort to develop a new drug to stop the disease, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found.

16 May 2005

Colon cancer patients who took aspirin regularly fared better after surgery

Colon cancer patients who took aspirin regularly fared better after surgery, reducing their risk of disease recurrence and death by half compared to non-users, researchers will report at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

16 May 2005

Research findings help predict risk of blood clots in women receiving tamoxifen therapy for breast cancer

New research findings may help physicians determine which women have an increased risk of blood clots when taking tamoxifen for the management of breast cancer, a team led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators will report at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

15 May 2005

New predictor for blood transplant success

The success of blood stem cell transplants used to treat diseases such as leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and aplastic anemia may soon become more predictable, thanks to a discovery made by researchers at the University of British Columbia.

11 May 2005