Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Sleeping Cancer Can ‘Wake Up’ Years Later

By Drug Discovery Trends Editor | May 28, 2015

In this Wednesday, May 13, 2015 photo, 11-year-old Alyssa Howes and her service dog, Flint, pose for a photo at her home in Lakewood, Calif. Alyssa was diagnosed with leukemia at three, went blind at four and started having seizures. (Credit: AP Photo, Damian Dovarganes)Years, even decades, after remission some cancers return without warning. The “sleeping” cancer cells reactivate, “waking up” decades later, according to a British team of scientists, who say they may have found the molecular key to the change.

A four-year-old patient who supposedly was cured of leukemia developed cancer again at age 25, the researchers said, in their study published today in the journal Leukemia.

Analysis of blood and bone marrow samples taken over 20 years showed a very specific DNA mutation, in which the genes BCA and ABL1 were fused together within the cancer cells, they said. The implication is that cancer cells had resisted chemotherapy by becoming dormant, they said.

“We have always known that in rare cases leukemia can relapse when it appears to be cured, but what we’ve lacked is firm evidence that cancer cells can lie dormant for long periods of time,” said Mel Greaves, the director of the Centre for Evolution and Cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research in London. “Our study shows a common genetic lineage linking the original leukemia and relapsing disease decades later.”

The sleeping cells are thought to have been slower-growing cancer varieties – which were immune to the traditional chemotherapies, which attack rapidly dividing cells, they said.

The new finding could provide clues to cancer adaptations that beat traditional therapies, the scientists added.

“It provides striking evidence of cancer evolution in action, with cancer cells able to lie dormant to avoid treatment, and then to accumulate new mutations capable of driving a new bout of disease,” Greaves added.

The research was funded by Leukemia and Lymphoma Research, with additional support from the European Hematology Association, the Kay Kendall Leukemia Fund and the Wellcome Trust.

The American Cancer Society says that childhood leukemia is extremely rare – but still accounts for a third of all cancers in children and teens. The British scientists said the new finding could be a turning point in beating the worst cases.

“If we can build up a picture of what causes rare cases of late relapse and how we can detect and prevent it, we may be able to deliver more true cures for this terrible disease,” said Matt Kaiser, the head of research at Leukemia and Lymphoma Research.


Filed Under: Genomics/Proteomics

 

Related Articles Read More >

Spatial biology: Transforming our understanding of cellular environments
DNA double helix transforming into bar graphs, blue and gold, crisp focus on each strand, scientific finance theme --ar 5:4 --personalize 3kebfev --v 6.1 Job ID: f40101e1-2e2f-4f40-8d57-2144add82b53
Biotech in 2025: Precision medicine, smarter investments, and more emphasis on RWD in clinical trials
DNA helix 3D illustration. Mutations under microscope. Decoding genome. Virtual modeling of chemical processes. Hi-tech in medicine
Genomics in 2025: How $500 whole genome sequencing could democratize genomic data
A media release and Scientific Report image of Elizabeth Kellogg. - Camera Settings: ILCE-9M2, 12mm, ISO 1000, 1/80, f/3.2, Fri, 04-19-2024 at 10:10. v.12.01.23
St. Jude pioneers gene editing and structural biology to advance pediatric research
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE