New treatments for cancer now are a step closer

PERSONALISED treatments for leukaemia have come a step closer after a British study on the role gene mutations play in blood cancers.

Scientists from the University of Birmingham analysed abnormal white blood cells taken from patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive form of the disease affecting about 2,600 people each year in the UK.

The team identified critical genetic “trigger points” that influenced the cells’ identity and behaviour. The research focused on myeloid cells, key components of the immune system that fight off bacterial infections and parasites.

Co-author Prof Peter Cockerill said: “Doctors in Birmingham are already testing AML patients for the many different mutations that cause AML. However, now they know which genes are the most important for each type of AML.

“This means that personalised medicine will one day become a reality for blood cell cancers, which will see a different drug being given to treat each form of AML, creating personalised treatment for each cancer patient depending on the mutation that has caused their disease.”

Dr Alasdair Rankin, research director at the charity Bloodwise, which funded the study, said: “We need to be smarter about matching the right treatment to the right person if we want to boost survival rates for AML, especially if there are already drugs out there that can help.

“These landmark research findings will act as a blueprint for how to tackle this.”