More than 8% of patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an aggressive cancer subject common in children and adolescents, have a duplicated MYB gene. This is revealed by a study carried out at the University of Leuven (Belgium) with the collaboration of scientists from research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra. Nature Genetics has just published the results, which are based on the analysis of 134 patients and could lead to a new therapy for the disease.

In search of more effective and less toxic therapies

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia accounts for 15% of all acute leukemias. As Dr. María Dolores Odero, researcher at CIMA and co-author of the publication, explains. "T-cell leukemic transformation is caused by the cooperation of different genetic mutations. Our results demonstrate that MYB duplication is relevant in this leukemia subject and, therefore, this gene could be a therapeutic target."

Currently the treatment for these patients is chemotherapy. Inhibition of NOTCH1, another oncogene with an important role in this leukemia, is being studied, but the treatment has toxic side effects, so in some patients it must be discontinued. The results published inNature Genetics demonstrate that the combined inhibition of NOTCH1 and MYB in this subject leukemia is very effective. These findings give hope for the development of more effective and less toxic combination therapies.

The aforementioned scientific work has been position by Dr. Idoya Lahortiga, a biologist who began her degree program research at department of Genetics of the University of Navarra and continued her postdoctoral training at area of Oncology at CIMA. The association Spanish Against Cancer has funded part of this research, which Dr. Lahortiga is now developing at the department of Genetics Molecular directed by Dr. Jan Cools in Leuven.

article published in "Nature Genetics".