Aggressiveness of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Elucidated

Scientists at the University of Basel and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have discovered why acute leukemias with the same genetic abnormality vary in their aggressiveness based on their cellular origin. They found that the cancer inducing alteration is particularly devastating if it occurs in early hematopoietic stem cells expressing certain genes involved in cell migration and tissue invasion. These findings should now make it possible to classify patients into more clearly defined groups, to adapt treatment, and hopefully also to develop personalized therapeutic strategies for the future. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a blood cancer caused by various genetic abnormalities in hematopoietic precursor cells which lead to the proliferation of immature white blood cells. As a result, the bone marrow is no longer able to produce normal blood cells. AML can be treated with chemotherapy; however, even in cases with the same genetic abnormality, disease progression often varies. It has not been clear to date why certain forms are more aggressive than others.