Evidence of Infection Link to Childhood Leukaemia
01 April 2009 - UK researchers have for the first time identified the molecule that stimulates leukaemia to develop in children.
Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) have observed that pre-leukaemic stem cells multiplied substantially at the expense of normal cells when exposed to a molecule produced in the body called TGF.
TGF is triggered as a normal response to infection and so the new finding provides the first experimental evidence as to how common infections might trigger childhood leukaemia.
“We had already identified that a genetic mutation occurring in the womb created these pre-leukaemic cells,” Dr Anthony Ford from the ICR says.
“But we have been looking for a trigger that could send these cells down the pathway to leukaemia. We believe TGF is part of that missing link.”
This mutation means pre-leukaemic cells grow in the bone marrow as a silent time bomb that can stay in the body for up to 15 years, but requires other factors to convert into leukaemia.
“Identifying this step means we can determine how an unusual immune response to infection may trigger the development of the full leukaemia and eventually perhaps develop preventative measures such as a vaccine,” ICR scientist Professor Mel Greaves says.
