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.

Method of gene therapy that can accurately and permanently correct mutations in disease-causing genes

Harnessing the strength of a natural process that repairs damage to the human genome, a researcher from UT Southwestern Medical Center has helped establish a method of gene therapy that can accurately and permanently correct mutations in disease-causing genes.

4 Apr 2005

Poor survival rates in some cancers related to lack of clinical trial participation

In a new study Archie Bleyer, M.D. of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston and colleagues have discovered that mortality and poor survival rates among young adults and older adolescents with some cancers may be explained in part by the lack of participation in clinical trials.

28 Mar 2005

Three different leukemias are all caused by mutations that alter a specific enzyme controlling blood cell proliferation

Identifying the genetic malfunction that causes these disorders raises the hope that researchers may be able to devise a targeted therapy, just as they have done for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), which is presently treated with Gleevec. The three leukemias that share a common genetic cause are polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and myeloid metaplasia with myelofibrosis (MMM).

28 Mar 2005

Ultrafast laser detection of cancer cells also may improve understanding of stem cells

To investigate tumors, pathologists currently rely on labor-intensive microscopic examination, using century-old cell-staining methods that can take days to complete and may give false readings.

23 Mar 2005

Strawberries destroy cancer cells

Researchers specializing in the health benefits of plant compounds have shown that quercetin, a phytonutrient found in abundance in strawberries and other fruits, can induce programmed self-destruction of human cancer cells.

23 Mar 2005

Genes TEL2 and MYC cooperate with each other to promote pediatric cases of the immune system cancer B-cell lymphoma

The genes TEL2 and MYC cooperate with each other to promote pediatric cases of the immune system cancer B-cell lymphoma. This finding, from investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is published in the current issue of Molecular Cell Biology (MCB).

22 Mar 2005

Discovery of a single mutation responsible for a number of blood disorders

Myeloproliferative disorders form a range of haematological malignant diseases, with three main members: polycythaemia vera, essential thrombocythaemia, and idiopathic myelofi- brosis. The disorders are characterised by overactive production of blood cells and can lead to thrombosis, haemorrhage or acute myeloid leukaemia.

21 Mar 2005

Cancer survival comes at its own price

Patients who hear the dreaded words "you have cancer" invariably look forward to the day the doctor tells them "you're cured." But University of Florida researchers say survival often comes at its own price -- the mind may need mending even after the body heals.

16 Mar 2005

High-dose radiation and bone marrow transfer treatments on glaucoma-susceptible mice completely blocked development of glaucoma

In a discovery that could point to new treatments for a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, Jackson Laboratory researchers have found that high-dose radiation and bone marrow transfer treatments on glaucoma-susceptible mice completely blocked the development of glaucoma, by preventing neurodegeneration.

14 Mar 2005

Inherited traits and tumor mutations affect response to treatment of leukemia

The outcome of chemotherapy treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) depends not only on the acquired genetic make-up of the leukemic cells, but on genes that children inherit from their parents. This study, from investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is published in the online edition of Blood.

3 Mar 2005

Older women benefit from chemo to treat breast cancer

Age alone should not prohibit the use of chemotherapy regimens in older women with breast cancer who are otherwise in good general health, according to a study in the March 2 issue of JAMA.

1 Mar 2005

U.S. cancer researchers launch first American-Israeli cancer conference

Leading cancer researchers from Baltimore, Miami and New Jersey have organized the first Joint American-Israeli Conference on Cancer. The meeting, scheduled for March 16 through 18 in Jerusalem, seeks to foster collaboration among physicians and scientists in the two countries.

1 Mar 2005

Experts on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) review current scientific knowledge

When the most common adult leukemia in the United States was last reviewed by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 1995, it was seen through the eyes of theories that dated back to the 1960s.

24 Feb 2005

Sir Bobby Robson opens state-of-the-art research centre

Cancer survivor Sir Bobby Robson marked the official opening of a state-of-the-art research centre by meeting the doctors and scientists using its facilities to help patients.

23 Feb 2005

Feverfew or Bachelor's Button, kills human leukemia stem cells like no other single therapy

A daisy-like plant known as Feverfew or Bachelor's Button, a traditional remedy for reducing fevers and a treatment for nervousness, hysteria and low spirits, is the source of an agent that kills human leukemia stem cells like no other single therapy

23 Feb 2005

Association noted between certain non-lver cancers and hepatitis C

People infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a higher risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma, according to a recent study of the Swedish population.

22 Feb 2005

Why some lung cancers stop responding to the drugs erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa)

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have found an explanation for why some lung cancers stop responding to the drugs erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa).

22 Feb 2005

New compound, AMN107, 20 times more potent than Gleevec for chronic myelogenous leukemia treatment

A laboratory study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has shown that a potent and highly selective therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) may ultimately be more effective than Gleevec®, the current standard of care.

21 Feb 2005

Vaccine that boosts the immune response could improve the effect of conventional treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia

CML is caused by the breakage and swapping of chromosomes 9 and 22, which results in a shortened chromosome called the Philadelphia chromosome. Cells with the abnormal chromosome make a protein that encourages aberrant growth and division. Patients with CML can be treated with a drug called imatinib or interferon alfa.

20 Feb 2005

Exposure of expectant mothers to urban air pollution may alter the structure of babies' chromosomes while in the womb

A new study of 60 newborns in New York City reveals that exposure of expectant mothers to combustion-related urban air pollution may alter the structure of babies' chromosomes while in the womb.

15 Feb 2005