Transformed leukaemia cells to target malignant cells

Research which aims to make laboratory-grown leukaemia cells change form and used to prime a patient's immune system to kill malignant cells has begun in Edinburgh, Scotland. If successful, the project could give clinicians a way of destroying residual leukaemic cells which are undetectable by microscope.

The findings could be helpful in the treatment of acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML), one of the most common forms of leukaemia in adults. Although about 70% of patients with AML achieve complete remission of the disease after chemotherapy treatment, about half of the younger patients and most of the elderly patients will ultimately relapse and die as a consequence of the disease.

Three-year survival rates account for about 40% of younger patients and 10% of older patients. Research work during the past few years however, has shown that it is possible to grow leukaemic cells in the laboratory and force them to change into a kind of immune cell called the dendritic cell. Dendritic cells are responsible for generating primary immune responses which can lead to the destruction of leukaemia cells.

The work has now moved forward to the next phase of clinical trials in which patients with AML will donate bone marrow or blood cells before undergoing chemotherapy treatment. If they go into remission, their stored leukaemic cells will be cultured and changed into dendritic cells which will be given back to the patient by injection.