Tracking Genetic Changes Can Help Detect Leukemia Risk



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Scientists can now identify people at high risk of developing leukemia nearly five years before the patient develops cancer using a blood test to track certain changes in the DNA code, which can reveal the roots of the disease. ] The results showed that people who were developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – a blood cancer that affects the bone marrow and stops the production of normal blood cells – had a greater number of mutations in the badociated genes. disease and mutations were often present in a larger fraction of their blood cells.

"Acute myeloid leukemia often occurs very suddenly in patients, so we were surprised to discover that its origins are usually detectable more than five years before the disease develops," says Grace Collord, Wellcome Sanger Institute. 19659002] "This provides a proof of principle that it is possible to develop tests to identify people at high risk of developing AML," said Collord, who is also a researcher at the University of Cambridge,

. study, published in the journal Nature, the team sequenced the stored blood DNA of 124 AML patients and compared it to that of 676 people who had no AML or cancer related.

The results showed that many people who went on to develop cancer, had particular genetic changes that set them apart from those who did not have it.

These changes could be used collectively to develop an AML risk predictive test. "Our study provides for the first time evidence that we can identify people at risk of developing AML for many years before they actually develop this life-threatening disease," We hope to leverage these findings to develop Robust screening tests to identify people at risk and conduct research on how to prevent or slow progression to AML, "added Vbadiliou.

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