Leukemia

The fungus thought to have claimed the lives of several excavators at Tutankhamun's burial site has had an image makeover, with scientists discovering that it holds potent cancer-fighting properties. It opens the door to new fungi-based medicines.

A 53-year-old from Düsseldorf in Germany has followed the "Berlin" and "London" patients, becoming the third person in the world to be completely cured of HIV following a stem cell transplant using donor cells with a particular genetic mutation.

Little is known about how childhood leukemia is caused, but previous studies have indicated a link between the disease and maternal infections. A large study of Danish children has shed more light on the subject.

Stem cell transplants to treat blood cancers can be a risky process. In a new study in mice, researchers found a way to make the process safer by targeting a patient’s faulty stem cells more precisely, removing the need for radiation or chemotherapy.

Scientists investigating a root cause of leukemia have made a key discovery around how genetic mutations can cause blood stem cells to go rogue, forming dangerous populations of cloned cells that can go on to become cancerous.

Feverfew is a common flower easily recognizable either from a home garden or the shelf of the local health store. Now, researchers from the University of Birmingham have engineered a compound from the leaves of this plant that might be a potent cancer killer.

CAR-T cell therapy involves reprogramming T-cells to hunt down cancer, which has been effective against blood cancers but not so much against solid tumors. Now, scientists at MIT have found a way to supercharge the technique with a vaccine booster.

Scientists report the “functional cure” of an HIV patient for only the second time ever. Known only as “the London patient”, the man received a transplant of bone marrow stem cells from a donor that had a resistance to the virus. The patient has now been in remission for 18 months.

New research has found a promising leukemia treatment in an eye drop already being developed to battle retinal neovascular disease. The research revealed the eye-drops, still in a pre-clinical stage of development, target the same gene that inhibits the progression of this aggressive blood cancer.

A compelling new study is comparing cancer cell populations to parasites, describing how it can alter the body's ability to metabolize glucose to create more energy sources that help tumors grow.

​​Bone marrow tissue functions like a conveyor belt for our bloodstream and scientists have now made a promising advance in the effort to create an artificial version, a tool that could be weaponized in the fight against leukemia and other diseases of the blood. ​

After being diagnosed with leukaemia, a 10-year-old girl from Australia was inspired to invent a better Band-Aid dispenser. The Faster-Aid works like a roll of tape that's resealable to keep the bandages sterile, and it won Origin’s littleBIGidea, an Australia-wide competition for young inventors.