The current treatment for a group of blood cancers called myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) involves demethylating drugs that inhibit the growth of cancer cells. However, a multinational team led by researchers from Taiwan, Singapore, and the United States has found that the drugs may actually activate a known oncogene—a gene that under certain conditions can cause cancer. Activating the “sleeping” oncogene may lead to poor survival rates.
In a press release on Oct. 20, Taiwan’s Taipei Veterans General Hospital (NCGH) discussed the discovery, which may change current thinking on the treatment of MDS and other cancers.
MDS affects hematopoiesis, the process whereby the bone marrow produces blood cells and platelets. MDS patients may have myeloblasts—early forms of blood cells normally found only in bone marrow—in their blood. About 30 percent of MDS patients progress to acute myeloid leukemia….