Leukemia

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.

Scientists at Cambridge have demonstrated a new method to fight leukemia, by targeting overactive enzymes that can lead to the disease. If the results of mice tests carry across to humans, it could be the first of a new class of cancer drugs.

A new study has shown that an experimental class of cancer drugs has wider potential than previously thought. Researchers have found a new type of BET inhibitor that, in mouse tests, can target solid tumors more effectively and safely than others.

Cancer cells are more metabolically active than normal cells, which helps them grow out of control – but this could also be their weakness. New research shows that leukemia is particularly vulnerable to a drug cocktail that targets mitochondria.

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.

Building on several years of research into a protein responsible for leukemia, a newly published paper ​has revealed success in slowing the progression of the deadly cancer in mouse models.

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. ​