Gene Activity May Affect Acute Myeloid Leukemia Outcome

For acute myeloid leukemia patients, overactive genes in their leukemic stem cells (LSC) can translate into a more difficult struggle to overcome their disease and achieve prolonged remission, new research reveals. "In many cancers, specific subpopulations of cells appear to be uniquely capable of initiating and maintaining tumors," the study authors explained in their report. The researchers identified 52 LSC genes that, when highly active, appear to prompt worse outcomes among acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.

Between 2005 and 2007, study author Andrew J. Gentles, of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and colleagues examined gene activity in a group of AML patients as well as healthy individuals. Separate data concerning AML tumors in four groups of patients (totaling more than 1,000) was also analyzed. In one of the patient groups, the investigators found that higher activity levels among 52 LSC genes meant a 78 percent risk of death within a three-year period. This compared with a 57 percent risk of death in the same time frame for AML patients with lower gene activity among these specific "signature" genes.

In another AML patient group, the research team observed that higher gene activity prompted an 81 percent risk for experiencing a disease set-back over three years, compared with just a 48 percent risk among patients with low gene activity. What's more, Gentles and his colleagues found that higher activity among these 52 LSC genes generally meant a poorer response to chemotherapy treatment and lower remission rates.

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Radiation Exposure Raises Likelihood of Second Cancer

Radiation exposure increases the risk that cancer survivors will go on to develop another malignancy, finds a new study. It was known that radiation exposure can cause cancer but it wasn't known whether it increases a person's risk of developing more than one. In order to find out, American and Japanese researchers analyzed data from more than 10,000 survivors of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki who developed primary cancers. "We found that radiation exposure increased the risks of first and second cancers to a similar degree," study first author Dr. Christopher Li, a breast cancer epidemiologist and a member of the Public Health Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said in a center news release.

"People exposed to radiation who developed cancer also had a high risk of developing a second cancer, and the risk was similar for both solid tumors and leukemias in both men and women," Li said. The link between radiation exposure and second cancers was especially strong for radiation-sensitive cancers such as leukemia and tumors of the lung, colon, breast, thyroid and bladder. The study appears in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research. "Our findings suggest that cancer survivors with a history of radiation exposure should continue to be carefully monitored for second cancers," Li said. He also thanked his Japanese colleagues for their collaboration. "Through innumerable publications, [they] have transformed the tragedy of the atomic bombings to fundamental scientific advancements that have impacted radiation protection standards and policies worldwide," Li said.

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