Antibody targets acute myeloid leukemia

ATLANTA, Dec 11, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Through the use of a novel antibody, U.S. scientists may be able to target the specific cells that lead to a common form of leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia is the result of maverick stem cells in the bone marrow producing unchecked numbers of immature white blood cells, called myeloid cells.

"The reliability of this antibody to detect and quantify the particular stem cells that foreshadow a poor prognosis for AML patients in remission means that scientists may now have the ability to hone in on these specific cells and

target them for treatment," said senior study author Gerrit Jan Schuurhuis, of the University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

The findings were presented at 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

"When I was training in hematology in the 1960s, AML was not curable. Now many, but not all, patients can be cured," said Dr. James N. George of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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