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New Molecular Test Could Double Leukemia Survival Rates

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 5, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 5, 2025 — Testing positive for leukemia actually saved the life of 51-year-old Jan Leahy, a business process owner from Wimbledon, England.

Leahy benefitted from a clinical trial evaluating a new bone marrow test that can detect a potential leukemia relapse months before standard exams.

In her case, the test showed she was no longer responding to chemotherapy for her leukemia, providing extra time for alternative treatments to get her back into remission prior to a stem cell transplant.

“Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a horrific disease,” Leahy said in a news release. “Being enrolled on this trial saved my life and enabled doctors to try alternative treatments. It’s amazing to see great progress being made in improving treatment options for patients.."

This better bone marrow test could wind up doubling survival rates among leukemia patients, researchers reported April 28 in The Lancet Hematology.

The highly sensitive test can predict whether a patient treated for acute myeloid leukemia is about to suffer a relapse up to three months earlier , researchers say.

“Acute myeloid leukemia is the most aggressive form of blood cancer, so knowing early that a patient’s cancer is going to relapse is crucial for planning their treatment,” senior researcher Dr. Richard Dillon, a clinical senior lecturer in cancer genetics at King’s College London, said in a news release.

“We hope that these tests become part of routine care for this type of cancer across the UK and worldwide, and ultimately improve long-term survival rates for patients,” Dillon said.

AML causes bone marrow to produce abnormal white blood cells, which quickly spread throughout the body, researchers said in background notes. Chemotherapy can put patients into remission, but they have a significant chance of their cancer returning within two years of treatment.

The new test focuses on mutations in the NPM1 and FLT3 genes, which are among the most common causes of leukemia in younger adults. The test can detect low levels of leukemia cells, known as minimal residual disease (MRD), as the cancer starts to rebound.

For the study, researchers recruited 637 patients who were in remission from leukemia. Over three years, patients either received standard clinical monitoring – blood tests and physical exams -- or enhanced testing for gene mutations linked to leukemia.

The gene testing offered 50% better survival rates compared with standard monitoring, results show.

Catching low levels of leukemia can help doctors restart treatment more promptly, while patients are still healthy and their blood counts are normal, researchers said. Ultimately, this helps avoid the medical emergency posed by a full-blown relapse.

“There is still so much to learn about how best to treat this fast-moving form of cancer,” researcher Dr. Nigel Russell, an honorary consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, said in a news release. “We hope our research offers a new approach to detecting if a patient is at risk of relapse and offers hope to patients suffering from this disease.”

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted May 2025

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