Chromosomal rearrangement is the key to progress against aggressive infant leukemia

The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital—Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project reports that a highly aggressive form of leukemia in infants has surprisingly few mutations beyond the chromosomal rearrangement that affects the MLL gene. The findings suggest that targeting the alteration is likely the key to improved survival. The study is the most comprehensive analysis yet of this rare but aggressive subtype of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that occurs during the first year of life and is sometimes diagnosed at birth. Read more here.