LONDON: A breakthrough in a study could usher in a new era of treatment for an extremely fast-growing blood cancer, scientists say.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), considered largely incurable by researchers, is a type of cancer that causes the bone marrow to produce large amounts of abnormal blood cells.
A joint study by the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the University of Oxford studied the effects of increasing levels of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) on the inhibition of AML proliferation.
Research has shown that blocking enzymes that sense changes in oxygen levels in the body’s cells can prevent the progression of the disease.
In the presence of oxygen, these enzymes called prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) are activated and target and damage proteins called HIF.
When oxygen levels are low, PHD enzymes are less active, causing HIF levels to rise.
In the study, the scientists created a genetic mutation in mice and inactivated the PHD enzymes, which increased HIF and stopped the progression of the disease without affecting the production of normal blood cells.
