Research
'Fossil record' in stored blood samples lets scientists trace leukemia back decades before diagnosis
The Brief
- Scientists reconstructed how acute myeloid leukemia (AML) develops over the decades before diagnosis using stored blood samples.
- In two-thirds of cases, the first cancer-driving mutation was acquired before age 20.
- That first mutation was acquired more than 50 years before diagnosis, according to the report.
Why it matters
The findings show that AML can have a very long pre-diagnostic history, which may matter for understanding when cancer-driving mutations arise and where early intervention might be possible.
Who’s affected
- researchers studying leukemia and cancer evolution
- clinicians and public health specialists concerned with blood cancers
- #leukemia
- #acute myeloid leukemia
- #cancer evolution
- #blood samples
- #mutations
Scientists have reconstructed how acute myeloid leukemia (AML) develops over the decades before diagnosis, showing that in two-thirds of cases the first cancer-driving mutation had been acquired before the age of 20—more than 50 years before diagnosis.
Timeline
Medical Xpress reported the study on reconstructing AML development from stored blood samples
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'Fossil record' in stored blood samples lets scientists trace leukemia back decades before diagnosis