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When we talk about cancer, we know that if there is any way to improve the chances of being saved, that is an early diagnosis. However, we know very well that cancer is often asymptomatic and when there is an obvious sign, it is often too late. That is why some scientists have come up with a method to detect a potential leukemia even five years before it is manifested. Here is the result obtained by scientists from the University of Cambridge
Genetic changes
What scientists have discovered, is that one type of cancer, called acute myeloid leukemia (AML) ), is always preceded by genetic changes. internal blood flow. This has not only led to the development of a new diagnostic method, but has also paved the way for a potential new preventive treatment for a tumor so difficult to treat.
Five years ago
"Acute myeloid leukemia often occurs suddenly in patients, so we were surprised to find that its origins are usually detectable more than five years before the disease develops. This proves the principle that it would be possible to develop tests to identify people at high risk of developing AML, "said Dr. Grace Collord of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge. Leukemia is a cancer that involves white blood cells, our most important defensive barriers that protect us from viruses and bacteria. When the disease occurs, the white blood cells are blocked – in terms of production – in the bone marrow. This can cause fatal infections and sudden bleeding.
The Study
To understand the origin of this dreaded disease, scientists from the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) of Cambridge collaborated in the study European Prospective Investigation Nutrition (EPIC). It is one of the largest cohort studies in the world involving 521,000 people from 10 European countries. The study, which lasted 15 years, examined genetic changes that were highlighted a few years before the onset of leukemia. Patients who were sequenced in DNA were compared to healthy individuals who had a genome that remained unchanged or slightly altered
Results
The results showed that people who developed leukemia had first genetic changes different from those who did not get sick. In fact, people who were about to develop leukemia had a number of mutations in the DNA – already related to leukemia – particularly high. And it is precisely these changes that could be taken into account in order to develop a predictive test. "The generosity of the participants in sharing their data and blood samples allowed us to discover a pattern of genetic changes that was established well before the onset of AML and that increases the risk when more cells are affected by a genetic change. This genetic delay can also be found in other blood cancers, and this would open new avenues for new research that could help many people in the future, "says Dr. Moritz Gerstung. Provides for the first time evidence that we can identify people at risk of developing AML for many years before they develop this potentially fatal disease. We hope to build on these results to develop effective screening tests to identify people at risk and direct research on preventing or stopping progression to the AML, "he said. George Vbadiliou of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem. Cell Institute. The results of the study were published in Nature.
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