A team of scientists have said that they have traced the root genetic cause of the cancer, leukaemia back to the time a baby is in the womb. The Institute of Cancer Research experts looked in detail at the entire three billion letter sequence of DNA-coding in identical twins to try to discover what sets off the disease. The authors hope that the findings, published in PNAS journal, could lead to brand new drugs and treatments that could fight the leukaemia before it has a chance to develop properly.
Leukaemia, a highly debilitating condition, is the most common cancer diagnosed in children. It affects a third of young cancer sufferers and kills over 100 children a year in the United Kingdom alone.
The twins who were studied in the research had the most common form of leukaemia which affects children, known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) which is when the cancer grows in the white blood cells.
It has been known for a long time that there are multiple faulty genes which are linked to the condition. It is also true that environmental factors can probably act as triggers along the way. But the precise sequence of events leading up to a diagnosis of ALL is unclear, and scientists are looking for a breakthrough in our understanding.
The authors of the study wanted to find out more about the disease so that it would be easier for other researchers to find better treatments at some point in the future. Although ALL can often be curable, the medicines and drugs that are used to treat it can cause unpleasant and sometimes severe side effects making the need for an alternative quite pressing.