New study into leukemia offers clearer understanding of its biology

Lausanne: Leukemia affects 350,000 people worldwide. It is a cancer of the white blood cells, which are the cells of the immune system and are produced by stem cells in the bone marrow. There are two types of chronic and two types of acute leukemia. One chronic type, chronic myeloid leukemia accounts for ~20% of all cases, and is caused by a mutated enzyme with unregulated activity. This enzyme comes in two sizes, the second of which is associated with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Being the focus of current leukemia treatment, understanding the role of the enzyme is critical. EPFL scientists have now used proteomics to compare the two forms of the enzyme extensively, uncovering a much clearer view of how it may give different forms of leukemia. The work, published in Leukemia, opens up possibilities for improved drug development and therapy.

New treatment approach for leukemia renders cancer genes powerless

Mainz: In leukemia cells it is often the case that genes are reactivated that, in physiological terms, mediate the self-renewal of blood stem cells. In a common subtype of acute myeloid leukemia, this abnormal activation of such self-renewing genes is apparently caused by structural modifications of the DNA packaging. In turn, these modifications are caused by two specific proteins of the so-called chromatin regulator group, on which leukemia cells are dependent. These discoveries were made by oncologist Dr. Michael Kühn from the Department of Internal Medicine III, which is a part of the University Center for Tumor Diseases (UCT) at the Mainz University Medical Center, in a collaborative effort with researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Harvard University in Boston.

Leukaemia study reveals therapy clues

Edinburgh: Genes that act as brakes to stop the development of an aggressive form of leukaemia have been identified by researchers. Scientists have found that two molecules - Hif-1alpha and Hif-2alpha - work together to stop the formation of leukemic stem cells in an aggressive type of blood cancer called Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). The cancer occurs when production of new blood cells by the bone marrow goes awry. This leads to the formation of leukemic stem cells, which fuel the disease and provide a constant flow of abnormal leukaemia cells.

Stopping a single enzyme could help treat leukemia

Lausanne: EPFL scientists show how inactivating a single enzyme could effectively eradicate an aggressive form of leukemia. The principles could apply to other cancers as well. T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a rare type of leukemia that is more common in older children and teenagers. It affects white blood cells, which are an essential component of our immune system that fights infection. T-ALL onset is linked to microRNAs, small non-coding RNA molecules that silence RNA and regulate gene expression. Most MicroRNAs are generated with the help of the enzyme Dicer1, which has been the focus of research for treating T-ALL. EPFL scientists now show that Dicer1 is crucial for the development of T-ALL, and inhibiting it can actually prevent the disease altogether. The work is published in the journal Blood.

Idarubicin for treatment of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia

Cochrane: Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a type of cancer that mainly affects bone marrow and peripheral blood. Although 40% to 45% of AML patients enjoy long-term disease-free survival, most patients will die of the disease. Induction therapy is the first phase of treatment of newly diagnosed AML which is essential for prolonging survival. An anthracycline (a class of chemotherapy drugs derived from the Streptomyces bacterium Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius) combined with cytarabine (a chemotherapy drug used mainly in treatment of haematological malignancies) has remained the standard of induction therapy for several decades.

Breastfeeding May Lower Risk of Childhood Leukemia

JAMA: Breastfeeding for six months or longer was associated with a lower risk of childhood leukemia compared with children who were never breastfed or who were breastfed for a shorter time, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics. Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer and accounts for about 30 percent of all childhood cancers. Still, little is known about its cause. Breast milk is meant to exclusively supply all the nutritional needs of infants and current recommendations include exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months of life to optimize growth, development and health.

Targeted Drug with Chemotherapy Combo Offers Longer Life to Patients with B-cell Cancers

Mayo Clinic: Because of the significant benefit found in combining the targeted drug ibrutinib with standard chemotherapy for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), an interim analysis has closed the international HELIOS phase III clinical trial. Led by Mayo Clinic, researchers found that ibrutinib and chemotherapy (bendamustine and rituximab, known as BR) reduced the risk of death or cancer progression by almost 80 percent in patients with previously treated CLL or SLL, compared to use of BR alone.

Researchers Connect Haywire Protein to Breast Cancer, Leukemia

Scripps: A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) sheds light on the cause of some cancers, including breast cancer and leukemia. In the new study, the researchers found that too much of a key protein, called cyclin E, slows down DNA replication and introduces potentially harmful cancer-linked mutations when cells divide. “Overexpression of cyclin E is one route to cancer,” said TSRI Professor Steven Reed, senior author of the new study. The findings were published May 7, 2015 in the journal Current Biology.

Scientists discover how to change human leukemia cells into harmless immune cells

Stanford: After a chance observation in the lab, researchers found a method that can force dangerous leukemia cells in the lab to mature into harmless immune cells called macrophages. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that when a certain aggressive leukemia is causing havoc in the body, the solution may be to force the cancer cells to grow up and behave.

The findings are described in a paper that published online March 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Chromosomal rearrangement is the key to progress against aggressive infant leukemia

St Jude: The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital—Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project reports that a highly aggressive form of leukemia in infants has surprisingly few mutations beyond the chromosomal rearrangement that affects the MLL gene. The findings suggest that targeting the alteration is likely the key to improved survival. The research appeared online ahead of print this week in the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

Researchers Detail Reasons for Ibrutinib Therapy Discontinuation in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Ohio University. US: About 10 percent of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) discontinued therapy with the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor drug ibrutinib because of disease progression during clinical trials, according to a study published online by JAMA Oncology.

Healthy older adults carry leukaemia mutations

NHS. UK: BBC News reports that, according to researchers, “It is ‘almost inevitable’ that your blood will take the first steps towards leukaemia as you age”. Researchers analysed the blood of 4,219 people, looking for DNA errors (mutations) linked to blood cancers (leukaemia).

Leukaemia-associated mutations almost inevitable as we age

Sanger Institute. UK: Researchers estimate that 7 in 10 over 90-year-olds harbour cells with early leukaemia mutation. It is almost inevitable that we will develop genetic mutations associated with leukaemia as we age, according to research published today in Cell Reports. Based on a study of 4219 people without any evidence of blood cancer, scientists estimate that up to 20 per cent of people aged 50-60 and more than 70 per cent of people over 90 have blood cells with the same gene changes as found in leukaemia.

Innovative approach to assessing effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs

Manchester University (UK) scientists have a developed a new method to monitor the effect of anti-cancer drugs on very rare leukaemia stem cells. The approach potentially allows doctors to screen patients and personalise their treatment.

Inherited gene variation leaves young leukemia patients at risk for peripheral neuropathy

St Jude Hospital. US: Researchers have identified the first genetic variation that is associated with increased risk and severity of peripheral neuropathy following treatment with a widely used anti-cancer drug. Investigators also found evidence of how it may be possible to protect young leukemia patients without jeopardizing cures. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

T-cell therapy clinical trial now offered to cancer patients at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

Michigan University. US: Innovative treatment uses patient’s own immune cells against acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A clinical trial using T-cell therapy that uses the patients’ own immune cells to hunt down cancer cells is now being offered at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

Young Adult Survivors Most Distressed After Leukemia and Lymphoma Treatment

Colorado University. US: Two University of Colorado Cancer Center studies published in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology show that young adult survivors (ages 18-39) of leukemia and lymphoma are more likely to report high distress than older survivors (ages 65+).

Computer model of blood development could speed up search for new leukaemia drugs

Cambridge University. UK: The first comprehensive computer model to simulate the development of blood cells could help in the development of new treatments for leukaemia and lymphoma, say researchers at the University of Cambridge and Microsoft Research.

Protein-based Therapy Shows Promise against Resistant Leukemia

Children's Hospital Los Angeles. US: Resistance of leukemia cells to contemporary chemotherapy is one of the most formidable obstacles to treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer.  Now researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) have designed and developed a new protein-based therapy they believe will prove highly effective against drug-resistant leukemia cells.  It may also amplify the potency of standard treatment options such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Added benefit of idelalisib is not proven

IQWIG. Germany: Idelalisib (trade name Zydelig) has been available since September 2014 for patients with follicular lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether this drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. According to the findings, such an added benefit is not proven for any of the two therapeutic indications because the drug manufacturer presented no suitable data.