Many older people have mutations linked to leukemia, lymphoma in their blood cells

At least 2 percent of people over age 40 and 5 percent of people over 70 have mutations linked to leukemia and lymphoma in their blood cells, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Mutations in the body's cells randomly accumulate as part of the aging process, and most are harmless. For some people, genetic changes in blood cells can develop in genes that play roles in initiating leukemia and lymphoma even though such people don't have the blood cancers. The findings, based on blood samples from nearly 3,000 patients, don't mean that people with these genetic mutations are destined to develop a blood cancer. In fact, the vast majority of them won't as the incidence of blood cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma is less than 0.1 percent among the elderly. Read more here.