Cypriot Researcher Finds Causes of Myeloid Leukemia

Researchers led by Cypriot haematologist Dr. George Vassiliou at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered the genetic causes of acute myeloid leukemia, said a statement from the institute.

Acute myeloid leukaemia is a rare but devastating disease, which can take hold in a matter of just days or weeks. Every year, 2,000 adults in the UK are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia: only about three in ten adults survive for five years.

"We have used targeted gene disruption to look at the way acute myeloid leukaemia develops in mice," says Dr George Vassiliou, Consultant Haematologist, cancer researcher and first author on the study from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, "and have found critical steps that take place when the cancer develops. Identifying the biological steps in turn means we can look for new drugs to reverse the process."

The discovery may lead to new therapies for the disease, according to the researchers.