Leukemia

Unraveling why children with Down syndrome have increased leukemia risk

Children with Down syndrome (DS) have an increased risk of developing leukemia, in particular acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Through their studies in a mouse model of DS, a ...

Genetics created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Targeted drug helps leukemia patients who do not benefit from initial therapy

A new study has found that patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have not responded to interferon treatments experience long-term benefits when they switch to the targeted drug imatinib. Published early online ...

Cancer created Feb 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Genetic profiling helps doctors more accurately predict prognosis, guide treatment decisions for leukemia patients

Researchers have identified a set of genetic abnormalities in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) that doctors can use to more accurately predict patients' prognoses and select treatments that are most likely to ...

Cancer created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds genes improving survival with higher chemo doses in leukemia

New research published in the March 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine identifies gene mutations associated with improved overall survival with higher doses of chemotherapy for patients with acute myeloid leukem ...

Cancer created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Identifying acute myeloid leukemia gene mutations may indicate risk, best treatment

An international group of researchers, including those from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have published a paper in the March 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reviewing the results of a study that a ...

Cancer created Mar 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Druggable' protein complex identified as a therapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified a candidate drug target for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a white blood cell cancer that proliferates out of control in the bone marrow. The team, led by ...

Cancer created Apr 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

FLT3 gene mutations play critically important role in acute myeloid leukemia

The key to treating one of the most common types of human leukemia may lie within mutations in a gene called FLT3, according to new research led by physician-scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) ...

Cancer created Apr 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study identifies potential treatment for lethal childhood leukemia

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have demonstrated that two related enzymes — phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) gamma and delta — play a key role in the development of T-cell acute lymphoblastic ...

Cancer created Apr 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New biomarker may predict prognosis for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Researchers at the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine have shown that G protein-coupled receptor expression may predict the prognosis of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Their findings may identify ...

Cancer created Apr 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A microRNA prognostic marker identified in acute leukemia

A study has identified microRNA-3151 as a new independent prognostic marker in certain patients with acute leukemia. The study involves patients with acute myeloid leukemia and normal-looking chromosomes (CN-AML).

Cancer created May 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Experimental agent may help older people with chronic leukemia

The experimental drug ibrutinib (PCI-32765) shows great promise for the treatment of elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to interim findings from a clinical trial.

Cancer created May 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Inherited DNA change explains overactive leukemia gene

A small inherited change in DNA is largely responsible for overactivating a gene linked to poor treatment response in people with acute leukemia.

Genetics created May 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Why chemotherapy fails: Scientists show why leukemia often returns

The fight against cancer is not won in a single battle: Long after a cancer has been beaten into remission, it can return. The reason for this is under debate, and much is unclear. New research led by Weizmann Institute scientists ...

Cancer created May 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Tumor cells' inner workings predict cancer progression

Using a new assay method to study tumor cells, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center have found evidence of clonal evolution in chronic ...

Cancer created Jul 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gene discovery could improve treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have made a discovery involving mice and humans that could mean that people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare and usually fatal cancer, are a ...

Cancer created Aug 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Leukemia (American English) or leukaemia (British English) (from the Greek leukos λεύκος - white, and haima αίμα - blood) is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases. In turn, it is part of the even broader group of diseases affecting the blood, bone marrow, heart, and lymphoid system, which are all known as hematological neoplasms. Leukemia can also cause multiple organ failure.

In 2000, approximately 256,000 children and adults around the world developed some form of leukemia, and 209,000 died from it.[citation needed]

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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