| Dr. Tak Mak makes discovery, advancing knowledge of acute myelogenous leukemia |
| (February 18, 2010) |
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Dr. Tak Mak and researchers have discovered that a gene mutation known to upset the way cells make energy fuels the cancer in a type of leukemia called AML (acute myelogenous leukemia). This cancer-causing chemical process (“onco metabolite”) has previously been identified as a factor in brain tumors (gliomas).
Dr. Mak says finding the same process at play in leukemia is potentially significant for two reasons – as a direct target for new drug development, and as a tool for screening and prevention, since the chemical upset may be detected in individual blood serum years before cancer ever develops.
The findings were published online February 8, 2010 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine -- http://jem.rupress.org/cgi/reprint/jem.20092506 . Dr. Mak is Director, The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital, University Health Network.
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