acute myeloid leukemia

(The Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation) The Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation supports the positive opinion from the European Union's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommending approval of vidaza for specific types of MDS patients, including those with high-risk MDS, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia.

(Ohio State University Medical Center) A new study led by Ohio State University cancer researchers shows that people with acute myeloid leukemia whose leukemic cells have mutations in the RAS gene are more likely to be cured when treated after remission with high doses of the drug cytarabine.

It also suggests that testing for RAS mutations might help doctors identify which AML patients should receive high-dose cytarabine as their post-remission therapy.

The findings could change how doctors manage these patients.

A new study suggests that acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may occur in part because abnormally low levels of a particular microRNA result in the over-activity of two genes important to the disease.

The research involved 85 patients with AML and gene mutations called NPM1, seen in about one-third of adult AML cases, and FLT3.

The findings suggest new therapeutic targets for treating the disease and should improve the understanding of AML.