For additional information call: Researchers discover new way to attack some forms of leukemia. Every year more than 31,000 adults and children are diagnosed with leukemia – a cancer of the blood characterized by the widespread uncontrolled proliferation of large numbers of abnormal blood cells, usually white blood cells, which take over the bone marrow and quickly spread to the blood stream. Current treatments for leukemia involve killing the cancer cells – which also results in the destruction of healthy cells during the process. However, a research team at Syracuse University may have discovered a new way to combat the disease. Led by Michael Cosgrove, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, the research team discovered a way to disrupt the protein switch that is a critical component in the process to create white blood cells. Their discoveries could lead to a more effective way to treat some forms of leukemia and revolutionize the approach to treating other forms of cancer. Their research was recently published online in the prestigious Journal of Biological Chemistry of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and is forthcoming in the print edition. The Leukemia Research Foundation awarded Dr. Cosgrove a $100,000 grant to support, in part, the specific project from which this key result was reached. To learn more about Dr. Cosgrove’s work at Syracuse University and his most-recent discovery, click here. To learn more about this and other projects funded by the LRF, click here.
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