The silencing of certain genes plays a fundamental role in the prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as well as in the response to treatment, according to the results obtained from a research carried out by specialists from the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and the research center Médica Aplicada (CIMA), as well as from the Reina Sofía Hospital in Cordoba.

Specifically, the work showed how the inactivation of 13 microRNAs, by means of a mechanism capable of modulating the functions of the genetic code, was associated with increased mortality in patients with LAL. The results obtained open up new therapeutic options by demonstrating the possibility of using these microRNAs as new targets in the treatment of this oncological disease. The conclusions of the research have recently been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the highest impact scientific journal of its kind specialization program.

Dr. Felipe Prósper, Dr. Xabier Agirre, Amaia Vilas-Zornoza, Paula Rodríguez-Otero, Leire Gárate, Lucía Cordeu, Edurne San José-Eneriz, Eva Bandrés and María José Calasanz (department from Genetics) have participated in the work study. Specialists from the Reina Sofia Hospital in Cordoba, such as Dr. José Román Gómez, and from the high school of Genetics Human from the Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital Campus Kiel in Germany, have also participated in the study and publication.