Tag Archives: wellcome

Immune system development linked to leukaemia: Defences against infection can be weaknesses in causing cancer

Scientists have discovered a genetic signature that implicates a key mechanism in the immune system as a driving force for a type of childhood leukemia. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia or ALL is the most common form of childhood leukemia. A key factor driving this leukemia for one in four ALL patients is a mutation that causes two of their genes, ETV6 and RUNX1, to fuse together. This genomic alteration happens before birth and kick starts the disease. …

Scientists fingerprint single cancer cells to map cancer’s family tree

The technique can identify the founding mutations from which a tumour evolved and then uses computer software to draw a map of the cancer’s family tree. Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute used DNA sequencing to identify a panel of mutations present across thousands of cancer cells in three patients with leukaemia…

Novel mutations define two types of bone tumor: Two related genes underlie the development of two rare bone tumors in nearly 100 per cent of patients

These mutations are found in nearly 100 per cent of patients suffering from two rare bone tumours; chondroblastoma and giant cell tumour of the bone. Chondroblastoma and giant cell tumour of bone are benign bone tumours that primarily affect adolescents and young adults, respectively. They can be extremely debilitating tumours and recur despite surgery…