DNA patterns could reveal whether certain blood cancers are progressing years before routine tests detect those changes, new research suggests.The study, published in the journal Cancer Discovery by the American Association for Cancer Research, followed 30 people with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of blood cancers in which the bone marrow produces too many blood cells.Researchers monitored DNA in the patients’ blood and bone marrow for genetic changes, then examined whether those changes were associated with blood counts, stable disease or progression to myelofibrosis or acute leukemia.MAN WHO BEAT RARE CANCER CELEBRATES BY CANOEING 2,000 MILES WITH HIS DOGPeople who stayed stable often had stable DNA, without cancer-related genetic changes.This suggests a genetically "quiet" MPN is more likely to remain stable, according to the researchers, who are based at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the U.K.Patients whose disease remained stable often showed little genetic change over time, the researchers found.
(iStock)Patients whose disease worsened often showed DNA changes years before routine blood tests detected progression, as new groups of abnormal cells emerged and grew, according to the study.Nine participants eventually developed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but their disease did not progress in the same way.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZIn some, MPN cells gradually accumulated harmful mutations; in others, the leukemia appeared to arise from a separate group of abnormal blood cells.Similar differences were seen in those who developed myelofibrosis.The researchers also found that hydroxyurea — a common medication used to control blood counts in people with MPN — leaves a recognizable pattern of small DNA changes in blood cells.
There was no evidence, however, that the drug causes leukemia.A similar pattern was linked to azacitidine, a drug used to treat certain blood cancers.Genetic changes sometimes emerged years befor...