By studying rare cases of identical twins with leukaemia, scientists have shed new light on the origins of the most common type of childhood cancer – confirming it originates in the womb but that events after birth determine whether or not clinical leukaemia develops.

A four-drug combination therapy that includes the novel drug carfilzomib can slow the progression of the blood cancer myeloma in patients who have been newly diagnosed with the disease, a phase III study has shown.

Death from infection – the leading cause of death for patients with a common type of leukaemia – is linked to specific gene mutations, a new study has found.