Acute myeloid leukemia
hideAcute myeloid leukemia (AML), also known as acute myelogenous leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. AML is the most common acute leukemia affecting adults, and its incidence increases with age. Although AML is a relatively rare disease, accounting for approximately 1.2% of cancer deaths in the United States, its incidence is expected to increase as the population ages.
The symptoms of AML are caused by replacement of normal bone marrow with leukemic cells, which causes a drop in red blood cells, platelets, and normal white blood cells. These symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, easy bruising and bleeding, and increased risk of infection. Although several risk factors for AML have been identified, the specific cause of the disease remains unclear. As an acute leukemia, AML progresses rapidly and is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated.
AML has several subtypes; treatment and prognosis varies among subtypes. 5-year survival varies from 15-70%, and relapse rate varies from 78-33%, depending on subtype. AML is treated initially with chemotherapy aimed at inducing a remission; patients may go on to receive additional chemotherapy or a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Recent research into the genetics of AML has developed tests that better predict how long a patient is likely to survive and whether a drug is likely to be effective.
For more information about Acute myeloid leukemia, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with acute myeloid leukemia
Researchers find two units of umbilical cord blood reduce risk of leukemia recurrence
Nov 13, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
1
A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease ...
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
Nov 05, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
0
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat ...
Inventive combination of research approaches identifies new target for treating leukemia
Oct 05, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
New research integrates sophisticated interdisciplinary approaches to solve a molecular mystery that may lead to alternative therapeutic strategies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The study, published by Cell Press in the ...
Researchers find gene that could lead to new therapies for bone marrow disease
Sep 28, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers are one step closer to finding new ways to treat Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a bone marrow disease that strikes up to 15,000 people each year in the United States, and ...
Doubling chemo dose helped leukemia patients
Sep 23, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
(AP) -- Adults with a common form of leukemia had a better chance of remission if they got a double dose of a long-used cancer drug, two new studies found.
Anemic patients with MDS gain long-term benefits from erythropoietin and a myeloid growth factor
Sep 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of blood disorders that can lead to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in some patients, often cause severe anemia (when the body lacks a sufficient number of functional red blood cells). ...
Study finds promise in combined transplant/vaccine therapy for high-risk leukemia
Aug 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two of the most powerful approaches to cancer treatment -- a stem cell transplant and an immune system-stimulating vaccine -- appear to reinforce each other in patients with an aggressive, ...
Disrupting a destructive duo: Researchers inhibit cancer proteins
Aug 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
A research team led by U of T Mississauga scientists has developed a new way to split up a dangerous pair of cancer proteins, a finding that could ultimately lead to chemotherapy that is more effective and has fewer side ...
Comprehensive look at rare leukemia finds relatively few genetic changes launch disease
Jul 27, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
The most comprehensive analysis yet of the genome of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) found only a few mistakes in the genetic blueprint, suggesting the cancer arises from just a handful of missteps, according to new ...
Stripping leukemia-initiating cells of their 'invisibility cloak'
Jul 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Two new studies reveal a way to increase the body's appetite for gobbling up the cancer stem cells responsible for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a form of cancer with a particularly poor survival rate. The key is targeting ...
New discovery points to a new treatment avenue for acute myeloid leukemia
Jul 06, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Dr. John Dick, Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the research arm of Princess Margaret Hospital, co-led a multinational team that has developed the first leukemia therapy that targets a protein, CD123, on ...
New targeted therapy finds and eliminates deadly leukemia stem cells
Jul 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 2nd ...
Controversial cancer stem cells offer new direction for treatment (w/ Video)
Jun 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
2
In a review in Science, a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher sorts out the controversy and promise around a dangerous subtype of cancer cells, known as cancer stem cells, which seem capable of res ...
'Misreading' of histone code linked to human cancer
Jun 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- The development of blood from stem cell to fully formed blood cell follows a genetically determined program. When it works properly, blood formation stops when it reaches maturity. But when it doesn’t, genetic ...
Researchers find drug that inhibits acute leukemia cell growth
Apr 24, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
Researchers from the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered how to turn off a certain receptor that promotes the growth of leukemia cells. The pre-clinical study ...
