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.

Scientists lead fight against blood cancers

The Leukaemia Research Fund has awarded £140,000 to three teams working within the Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences to find and improve treatments for leukaemia and related blood cancers.

7 Aug 2004

Protein loss plays role in acute T-cell leukemia

The loss of a key protein (Smad3) in a pathway that helps prevent tumors from forming is specific to one form of childhood leukemia, but not to other pediatric and adult forms of leukemia, according to a new study published in the August 5, 2004, New England Journal of Medicine.

5 Aug 2004

Surprising differences in the DNA of normal cells from different people

A new study by Michael Wigler’s group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has, in collaboration with researchers from Karolinska Institutet, revealed surprising differences in the DNA of normal cells from different people.

23 Jul 2004

New compound that is designed to overcome Gleevec resistance

One of the truly spectacular success stories in modern oncology is the development and implementation of Gleevec, a drug that virtually halts the progress of chronic myeloid leukemia. Yet for some patients who harbor particularly stubborn genetic mutations, Gleevec fails miserably.

17 Jul 2004

Thalidomide's role in fighting blood disorders, such as multiple myeloma

From the late 1950s to the end of 1961, thalidomide was a popular sedative and treatment for morning sickness until it was discovered to cause fetal malformations, which proved fatal within the first year of life in 40 percent of affected infants.

13 Jul 2004

Educating patients can help limit side effects of chemotherapy and radiation

A new study finds patients about to undergo chemotherapy or radiation expect a high number of side effects, and that age, gender, educational background, and the type of cancer all influence how many side effects a patient expects.

12 Jul 2004

Increasing evidence a virus may play a role in breast cancer

A new study finds increasing evidence a virus may play a role in breast cancer. The study finds nearly three-quarters of a small sample of Tunisian breast cancer patients showed evidence of a virus similar to one known to cause breast cancer in mice, twice the rate seen in women in the United States.

12 Jul 2004

Evidence that new anti-inflammatory drug may sensitize leukemia, and breast and lung cancers to conventional chemotherapy

Ohio researchers have used a recently developed anti-inflammatory drug as a starting point to construct a possible new, targeted anti-cancer agent.

10 Jul 2004

Dexrazoxane reduces heart damage caused by childhood leukemia treatment with doxorubicin (Adriamycin)

A potent chemotherapy that is highly effective in treating the most common form of childhood leukemia can significantly harm the heart, but findings from a multi-center study

9 Jul 2004

Severe sepsis causes around one in ten cancer deaths each year in the USA

Severe sepsis, is a costly complication in hospitalized cancer patients causing around one in ten cancer deaths each year in the USA, according to an article published today in Critical Care.

5 Jul 2004

Guidelines for determining the best possible time to receive bone marrow transplants

Bone marrow transplant, the only cure for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), is a life-saving procedure but carries with it many risks and potential side effects.

2 Jul 2004

Omega-3's - fatty acids, can be produced in bioengineered plants

Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs) have benefits regarding cardiovascular and inflammatory function, certain types of cancer, and maternal and infant health, according to recent peer-reviewed studies.

2 Jul 2004

Relatively little is known about Lupus

Doctors have today launched an appeal for volunteers to take part in a new study into the widespread, yet largely unknown, autoimmune disease, SLE or Lupus.

1 Jul 2004

Children cured of acute lymphocytic leukemia after chemotherapy have a 5-20 times greater risk of developing secondary malignant neoplasm's

The alterations in the children's gene sequence remain embedded within their chromosomes and may pose elevated risk for development of second malignancies and other diseases later in life, cautioned Barry A. Finette, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont.

1 Jul 2004

Oxford Therapeutic Antibody Centre receives Manufacturer’s Authorisation

Oxford University's Therapeutic Antibody Centre (TAC) has received a Manufacturer's Authorisation (Investigational Medicinal Products) from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

29 Jun 2004

Exelixis files new drug application for a proprietary novel anticancer compound

Exelixis, Inc. has submitted an investigational new drug application (IND) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for XL999, a proprietary novel anticancer compound.

29 Jun 2004

Microchip to track genetic signature of cancer and normal tissue

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), tiny pieces of genetic material that can serve as stop signs for gene expression and protein synthesis, are thought to be important in the development of cancer.

23 Jun 2004

Results from study of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis show promise

Genentech, Inc., Biogen Idec and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a Phase IIa study showing that two doses of Rituxan® (Rituximab), administered two weeks apart, improved symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to 48 weeks when combined with methotrexate (MTX), compared to MTX alone.

16 Jun 2004

New whole body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging allows scientists to watch as immune system respond to tumors or infection

Compared to the snapshot views of the immune system from tumor biopsies or blood assays, this whole body imaging allows scientists to track how the immune response changes, and the tumor or infection responds, throughout the different phases of immune response and over long periods of time.

15 Jun 2004

John Kerry pushes for new cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s

Drawing on the inspiration of Nancy Reagan and millions of families who bravely comfort suffering loved ones, Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry Saturday said we must lift the barriers that stand in the way of science to find new cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s and other diseases through stem cell research.

14 Jun 2004