Thousands of patients with aggressive blood cancer could benefit from a “new era” of treatments following a major drug breakthrough by British scientists.
Researchers at the University of Oxford and the Institute of Cancer Research in London have uncovered a new treatment strategy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
AML is a largely incurable type of cancer which causes the bone marrow to produce abnormal white blood cells, which quickly and aggressively spread around the body. It affects about 3,100 people in the UK each year, including children, killing 2,700.
The new study found the disease could be slowed down by drugs which block or deactivate a specific enzyme in the cells. These enzymes — called hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) — sense changes in oxygen
