According to researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, congestive heart failure rarely occurs among leukemia patients who take Gleevec (imatinib).

The study was led by Dr. Jorge Cortes who said that there is no need for routine cardio-specific monitoring of all patients taking imatinib, although those with cardiac history should be close monitored. In a separate paper lasat year, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reported that imatinib may be cardio-toxic in humans.

Imatinib targets two members of the tyrosine kinase class of enzymes and a hybrid tyrosine kinase known to cause chronic myologenous leukemia (CML) and Ph-postive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Before imatinib, only about half of CML patients survived five years. Now the five year survival rate is 95 percent.

Results of a study at St. Jude show why imatinib (Gleevec) is unable to prevent the relapse of an aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Imatinib has improved the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) dramatically.

CML and an aggressive form of ALL share the same mutation, the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph). Ph-postiive cells produce a growth-promoting enzyme BCR-ABL. However, in some aggressive cases of ALL, Ph-positive cells lack a tumor suppressor gene called Arf, which is present in CML cells, say the researchers.

The paper's first author, Richard T. Williams, says that doctors might be able to identify those people with ALL who lack Arf.

High blood sugar levels increase the rate of in-hospital deaths by almost 40 percent in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a study published in Cancer and led by Dr. Naeem Ali and colleagues at Ohio State. This effect was seen even in patients with mild increases in blood sugar levels.

The risk of developing sepsis was increased among such patients with hyperglycemia, according to the team, however, sepsis alone did not explain the relationship between the high blood sugar and increased mortality risk.

According to Dr. Ali, it is not clear if tight control over AML patients' blood sugar levels would improve outcomes as it does among critically ill patients. However, this study does "provide an impetus for further investigation in this area."

We often hear of cancer heroes that make it a mission in the last years of life to educate the world about cancer while making enormous changes to the way certain segments of society view the disease. But, rarely are these heroes young kids.

12-year-old Pat Pedraja stands as one of these heroic children, as he has been busy trying to educate the public and even kids (among others) to make changes to the bone marrow registry in the U.S. so that those who need bone marrow transplants have access to needed donations. Pedraja has leukemia and is half-Hispanic as well.

It's quite comforting to hear mature words like "people are dying each day ... and I want to change that" come from a 12-year-old, but there you have it. Pedraja convinced his family to pack it up and drive across the U.S. in order to encourage children of donating age to give up some bone marrow for those that need it.

Researchers from Ohio State University, Columbus, led by Daniolo Perrotti, have shown that a drug known as FTY720 prevents disease in a mouse model of many leukemias caused by BCR-ABL. Nearly all cases of chronic myeloid leukemia [CML-BC] and some cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia [ALL] are caused by changes to BCR-ABL. The drug also caused cells from human cell lines to die in vitro.
FTY720 does not directly target the BCR-ABL kinase, but instead activates phosphatase 2A (PP2A) which is a tumor suppressor that is inactivated by BCR-ABL. There were no adverse effects seen in the mice and no adverse effects in clinical trials for multiple sclerosis.

The authors believe that this study shows strong support for the use of FTY720 as a novel therapeutic for CML and ALL that is not responsive to current treatments with kinase inhibitors.

Chronic myeloid leukemia is usually treated first with a imatinib (Gleevec) that targets the protein BCR-ABL. If there is a recurrence due to resistance to the imatinib, individuals are then treated with dasatinib (SPRYCEL), which targets in BCL-ABR in a different way. Unfortunately, resistance to dasatinib is now being seen.

A study by researchers led by Charles Sawyers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center suggests that treating patients with both drugs in the beginning might decrease the chance of recurrence or at the very least, increase the time before such a relapse occurs. The authors suggest that treating patients with both drugs at first may prevent the emergence of the drug-resistant forms.

A third drug that can target both dasatinib- and imatinib resistant BCR-ABL is currently in trials.

Art for Cure, a non-profit organization, was founded by Jennifer Carr Patrizio, Jennifer Tisch, and Bob Stockfield. The two Jennifer's are my friends and fellow young breast cancer survivors. I was contacted by Jen and Jen to participate in the calendar by having a photo of me appear in it! How exciting!

Jennifer Carr Patrizio is a five year breast cancer survivor and a two year leukemia survivor. Jennifer Tisch is a two-time breast cancer survivor. Together, with freelance photographer Bob Stockfield, they have created a beautiful calendar called Life Blooms Desk Calendar.

The Life Blooms Desk Calendar is a month-at-a-glance format, features breathtaking photography of pink flora and motivational prose on one side, and candid photography of breast cancer survivors on the back. You can purchase the calendar for $20.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients whose cancer cells have a gene mutation called MLL-PTD, which usually predicts a return of the disease after remission, may remain disease-free longer when given aggressive therapy.

Such AML patients respond poorly to standard therapies and relapse within a year. However, for AML patients who lack the mutation, four in 10 are cured.

This new study, from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, suggests that treating AML patients who have the MLL-PTD mutation with aggressive therapies such as an autologous stem cell transplant while they are in remission may extend their disease-free survival. An autologous transplant uses stem cells taken from the patient's own blood.

About 13,000 new cases of AML are expected this year and about half will have cancer cells with damage. Determining the type of damage can direct doctors to determine the best therapy.

Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) face an increased risk of complications as a result of their cancer treatment. For a variety of reasons, many survivors avoid simple exercise and lifestyle changes that could reverse this damage, according research out of Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

Such ALL survivors are less physically active than the general population, according to the researchers. Also, survivors of ALL who received cranial radiotherapy, or "whole brain radiation", report the lowest activity among all adults, suggesting that this therapy, when administered in childhood, may affect an individual's activity in the future.

The reseachers note that the survivors are not lazy, but that the "whole brain radiation" treatment alters something in the central nervous system, leading to a decrease in the level of physical activity.

Because of the risk associated with cranial radiotherapy and improved chemotherapy drugs, cranial radiotherapy is now only used to treat children with very aggressive forms of ALL.

Bill Walsh, builder of an NFL dynasty with his 49ers of the 1980s, died of leukemia Monday at his San Francisco Bay. Walsh, known as The Genius for his innovative, pass-oriented attack, was 75.

Walsh was 102-63-1 with the 49ers and won three Super Bowls and six divisional titles in just 10 years. He was named Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1984 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. He served twice as the 49ers' general manager and coached at Stanford after leaving the 49ers.

"His coaching accomplishments speak for themselves, but the essence of Bill Walsh was he was an extraordinary teacher," says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "If you gave him a blackboard and a piece of chalk, he would become a whirlwind of wisdom. He revolutionized the game with his offense and will always be remembered as one of the most influential people in NFL history."

Tom Synder, host of NBC's The Tomorrow Show passed away on Sunday from leukemia. Synder told the world on his webpage in 2005 that he had been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The Tomorrow show aired in 1972 after The Tonight show with Johnny Carson. In 1995 he returned to late night TV starring in The Late Late show with Tom Synder.

His longtime producer and friend Mike Horowicz said "He was a great guy and very talented".

Leukemia rates in children and young people are higher near nuclear facilities, according to a review published in the July issue of the European Journal of Cancer Care.

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina performed a meta-analysis on 17 papers covering 136 nuclear sites around the world, including the UK, Canada, France, the USA, Germany, Japan and Spain.

They found that death rates for children up to the age of nine were elevated by between five and 24 percent, dependent on their distance to the nuclear facility. For children and young people up to the age of 25, the increase was from two to 18 percent.

However, the researchers note that there weren't excess rates very close to the facilities according to the dose-response studies that they analyzed.

We have written here at the cancer blog about Courtney Nicole a few times. You can find posts here and here. Courtney passed way about eight months ago. Her mom still keeps a journal of what is going on in her life and how she is coping with the loss of her nineteen year old daughter.

I find myself going to her site often to see how she is doing. It is heartbreaking to read her words at times and encouraging at other times. She is trying to go on -- but how, without her daughter?

Recently, Court's mom posted Its Like a Scab! on her website. Here's what she said:

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common form of leukemia in adults. According to the National Cancer Society an estimated 60,000 people are living throughout the United States with CLL.

An article published in The Lancet stated that the chemotherapy combination of Fludara plus Cytoxan improves progression free survival compared to therapy consisting of Fludara alone. The drugs used to treat CLL consist of Fludara, Cytoxan and chlorambucil. Recent studies have shown that Fludara in combination with Cytoxan to be the most effective treatment for CLL.

Researchers wanted to test to see if higher anticancer responses were seen with the combination of Fludara plus Cytoxan, treatment with Fludara alone or treatment with chlorambucil.

The two little girls who recently fashioned their own cardboard lemonade stand and sold their homemade refreshments for 50 cents a cup are not your typical lemonade entrepreneurs. What makes them stand out from the usual crowd of lemonade peddlers? These girls -- Emily is four and Lily is six -- are both cancer patients, undergoing chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and raising money for cancer research.

The two met last year at the Omaha Children's Hospital cancer clinic. Their mothers became fast friends, worked together on a neighborhood garage sale, and invited the little girls to set up a lemonade stand. The idea came from the story of another little girl, diagnosed with cancer just before her first birthday, who at age four opened her own stand with the goal of raising $1 million for her hospital. Only days before she died did she realize she would reach her goal.

How did Emily and Lily do? The totals are not yet in -- but they did raise $70 right away on the first day of the sale. And they reportedly had a grand time running their business.