The researchers milestone in the mechanisms that cause leukemia understanding -
mutations scientists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have found genes that lead to acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children of Type -. the most common childhood cancer worldwide
The study was conducted in children with Down syndrome - which are 20-50 times more prone to childhood leukemia than other children - and involved the analysis of the DNA sequence patients at different stages of leukemia.
The researchers found that two key genes (called RAS and JAK) can mutate to transform normal blood cells into cancer cells. However, these two genes mutate together, as it seems to exclude the other. This discovery means that we can begin to identify which of the two genes are mutated in patients and thus more effectively target their cancer at lower doses (reduced toxicity for the patient) with fewer side effects.
This discovery is an important step in understanding the biological mechanisms causing leukemia and bring scientists closer to developing a tailor individual treatment.
Currently, one in six children in the general population does not respond well to standard treatment for leukemia, and / or suffers a relapse and toxic side effects of therapy. These poor response and toxicity figures are even in children with Down syndrome.
The study was a collaboration between researchers from Blizard Institute, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and medical schools QMUL the Universities of Geneva and Padua, and is published in the main newspaper Nature Communications .
Dean Nizetic, cellular and molecular biology professor at Queen Mary University of London, and Professor of Molecular Medicine at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Singapore, commented: "We believe that our results are a breakthrough in understanding the underlying causes of leukemia and ultimately we hope to design a more suitable and effective treatment for this cancer, with less toxic drugs and fewer side- effects. This could benefit all children affected by the disease and possibly reduce the number of deaths related to side-effects. "
" Through our research, we know people with Down syndrome show signs of accelerated aging and a greater accumulation of DNA damage compared to the general population of similar age. However, paradoxically, they seem to be protected against the most common cancer in adulthood. Also, some people with Down syndrome appear to be protected against other diseases related to aging, such as dementia, atherosclerosis and diabetes. Therefore, the study of cells of people with Down syndrome may provide important clues in understanding the mechanisms of aging, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and a number of other common conditions. Further research is needed in this important area. "
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