Study maps blood-cell changes years before acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis
A Nature study traced genetic changes in blood cells years before acute myeloid leukemia was diagnosed in participants.
Researchers analyzed serial blood samples collected for as long as a decade before acute myeloid leukemia diagnoses, and in some cases beginning up to 15 years earlier. The study describes when key mutations arose and how faster-growing cell clones developed.
The researchers reported that clones with multiple driver mutations could overtake the blood decades before diagnosis. The findings describe cancer development and are not a clinical screening recommendation.