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.

Researchers discover a new, effective way to treat aggressive blood cancer in children

Australian scientists have found what could prove to be a new and effective way to treat a particularly aggressive blood cancer in children.

31 May 2021

Genetic and molecular mechanisms make chemotherapy drug work for some cancer patients

The chemotherapy drug decitabine is commonly used to treat patients with blood cancers, but its response rate is somewhat low. Researchers have now identified why this is the case, opening the door to more personalized cancer therapies for those with these types of cancers, and perhaps further afield.

25 May 2021

Breast cancer survivors have higher risk of new cancer diagnosis compared to healthy individuals

A new study finds breast cancer survivors in general have higher risk of new cancer diagnosis compared to healthy individuals. The article, which appears in CANCER, states that compared to the general population in the United States, the risk of new cancer diagnoses among survivors was 20% higher for those with hormone receptor (HR) positive cancers and 44% higher for those with HR-negative cancers.

19 May 2021

Epigenetic changes drive the fate of a B cell

B cells are the immune cells responsible for creating antibodies, and most B cells produce antibodies in response to a pathogen or a vaccine, providing immunity.

14 May 2021

Study reveals a compound found in avocados helps in the treatment of leukemia

According to recent research at the University of Guelph, a compound found in avocados may one day lead to improved leukemia treatment.

4 May 2021

New therapeutic target for patients with acute myeloid leukemia

According to a new study, targeting a pathway that is critical for the survival of some cases of acute myeloid leukemia could open up a new therapeutic route for patients.

3 May 2021

Small molecular changes can have dramatic impact on the CAR T cell function

When researchers from Penn Medicine found that many patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with the investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy targeting the CD22 antigen didn't respond, they went back to the drawing board to determine why.

23 Apr 2021

Researchers uncover a key genetic culprit in the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Using a widely known field of mathematics designed mainly to study how digital and other forms of information are measured, stored and shared, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have uncovered a likely key genetic culprit in the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

21 Apr 2021

Study advances CAR T cell therapy targeted at cancer

Cancer immunotherapy involves the activation of cells in the patient’s own immune system to fight tumor cells.

19 Mar 2021

Study identifies molecular mechanism by which HSPCs recover after chemotherapy-induced injury

Chemotherapy has a damaging effect on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in bone marrow. However, once chemotherapy ends, HSPCs regenerate, a process that has remained unknown--until now.

From Osaka University 8 Mar 2021

Engineered safety switch reduces CAR-T immunotherapy-related side effects

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have successfully used an experimental safety switch, incorporated as part of a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, a type of immunotherapy, to reduce the severity of treatment side effects that sometimes occur.

5 Mar 2021

Cre-controlled CRISPR makes conditional gene inactivation more easier

To discover the function of a gene researchers turn it off and observe the consequences. Often genes have multiple functions that differ depending on a tissue and age.

24 Feb 2021

Research links blood-clotting protein with CNS B-cell lymphoma growth

In people with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, cancerous B cells--a type of white blood cell--accumulate to form tumors in the brain or spinal cord, often in close proximity to blood vessels.

18 Feb 2021

Hyperactive RANK protein could trigger autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases, in which the body's own immune system attacks healthy tissue, can be life-threatening and can impact all organs.

3 Feb 2021

Yale scientists discover novel metabolic gatekeeper mechanism for leukemia

In a new study led by Yale Cancer Center, researchers have discovered a novel metabolic gatekeeper mechanism for leukemia. This mechanism depends on a molecule called PON2, which could lead to a new treatment for the disease. The findings were published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

2 Feb 2021

Two enzymes drive pre-cancer stem cells into malignancy

Since stem cells can continually self-regenerate, making more stem cells, and differentiate into many different specialized cell types, they play an important role in our development and health.

From UC San Diego 27 Jan 2021

Drug-resistant, metastasis-causing cells produce exponentially growing tumors

The cover for issue 1 of Oncotarget features Figure 2, "Results in clinical trials," published in "Drug resistant cells with very large proliferative potential grow exponentially in metastatic prostate cancer" by Blagoev, et al. which reported that most metastatic cancers develop drug resistance during treatment and continue to grow, driven by a subpopulation of cancer cells unresponsive to the therapy being administered.

27 Jan 2021