Researchers in Germany have discovered that methadone, an agent used to break addiction to opioid drugs, has surprising killing power against leukemia cells, including treatment resistant forms of the cancer.

Nearly a third of leukemia patients do not respond to chemotherapy, but this is not usually discovered until they have already endured a week-long chemotherapy treatment and waited a month to see whether it has worked. A new study shows that PET scans could tell how well a patient is responding after just one day of chemotherapy.

Gene mutations that make cells cancerous can sometimes also make them more sensitive to chemotherapy. A new study led by cancer researchers at Ohio State University shows that a mutation present in some cases of acute leukemia makes the disease more susceptible to high doses of a particular anticancer drug.

Research led by scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has revealed new clues into what causes different types of a particularly aggressive group of blood cancers known as mixed lineage leukemias (MLL) and how the disease might be treated, according to a study in the June 9 issue of Cancer Cell.

Finbarr Cotter, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of the Institute of Cell and Molecular Science at Barts and The London School of Medicine, today presented in an oral session "Clinical Caspase Activation in CLL by GCS-100: a Phase 2 Study" at the 10th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (10-ICML).

In both leukemia and solid tumors, there exists among the multitude of warrior cancer cells a small subgroup that work undercover, patiently lying in wait to launch their attacks. Known as either cancer initiating cells (CICs) or leukemia initiating cells (LICs), these stealth populations are impervious to conventional chemotherapy and undaunted by targeted cancer therapies.

The fifth leading cause of cancer in the United States, lymphoma is made up of more than 40 rare and highly diverse diseases that target the body's lymphatic system. Lymphomas include both one of the fastest growing cancers -- Burkitt's lymphoma, which can double in size in as little as a day -- and one of the slowest, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

By restoring two small molecules that are often lost in chronic leukemia, researchers were able to block tumor growth in an animal model.

In a new study published in PLoS Medicine, William Evans of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, and colleagues provide new insight into resistance to the widely-used cancer drug methotrexate (MTX) in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), the most common cancer in children.

Researchers at St. Jude ChildrenЎ¦s Research Hospital have discovered evidence that a series of genetic mutations work together to initiate most cases of an aggressive and often-fatal form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Leukaemia – cancer of blood or bone marrow – is caused by mutations that allow defective blood cells to accumulate and displace healthy blood. To devise effective therapies it is crucial to know which mutations cause leukaemia and which cell type gives rise to leukaemic cells.

A new study presented at the Experimental Biology Annual Meeting shows that a proprietary blend extracted from canola, Dermytol™, produces a pronounced reduction of malignant melanoma cell growth.