Did you know?
Leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells. White blood cells are the component in blood that fight infections and are made in the bone marrow. Leukaemias originate from developing white bloods cells in the bone marrow that have undergone a malignant change, resulting in an uncontrolled growth of immature white blood cells. This growth of cells then impairs the function of the bone marrow to make normal blood cells. These malignant cells then spill out of the bone marrow and travel around the rest of the body through the bloodstream and may infiltrate other tissues.
Leukaemias are classified according to the type of white blood cell from which they originate and how quickly the disease develops. Acute leukaemias appear and progress very quickly, and need to be treated urgently, whereas chronic leukaemias are slow to develop.
The four types of leukaemias are: Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Each type of leukaemia needs to be treated differently. The most common type of leukaemia in children is ALL and is in fact the most common childhood cancer. In adults, CLL and AML are most common.
The cause of leukaemia is not fully understood. It is not a hereditary disease, though sporadic genetic mutations definitely play a part. Some environmental factors have been linked to leukaemia, such as exposure to high levels of radiation, long-term exposure to certain chemicals (like benzene), and viral infections.
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Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is the most common form of leukaemia. Almost 80% of new cases are in people over the age of 60 years.
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Diamantina’s research into leukaemia
The goal of the researchers in the Molecular Oncogenesis Group is to identify and characterise cancer-causing genes involved in leukaemia. We are investigating a gene by the name of MYB, which plays an essential role in normal blood cell development. MYB is also necessary for the continued growth of most leukaemias. By investigating how we can block the activity of the MYB gene in leukaemic cells, we hope to lead to a new form of therapies to treat leukaemia.
Together with clinicians at the PA Hospital, researchers in the Molecular Virology Group have been working on chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The challenge with this research is that we do not have any good laboratory tools with which to investigate this disease, as once the CLL cells are removed from the patient, the cells die rapidly. There are also no animal models of this disease. However, we recently discovered two new growth factors that manage to keep the cells alive for 100 days. Apart from the benefit of keeping the cells alive for a longer period to study, by understanding what keeps them alive, we can block the action of these growth factors to cause the cells to die. These factors could be potential targets for new therapeutics for CLL
More information
For more detailed information about the research that is being done in the Molecular Oncogenesis and Molecular Virology groups, click on the links. For more information about leukaemia, we recommend you visit the Leukaemia Foundation website or the Cancer Council website.