Unexpected cell population key to blood cancer relapse

McMaster University researchers have provided evidence of new cancerous cells they have termed cancer regenerating cells, which are responsible for the return of acute myeloid leukemia after remission.

Current therapy is effective at inducing remission in adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia, but most patients later succumb after a relapse. That relapse has been thought to be caused by rare and dormant cancer stem cells that escape chemotherapy.