Closer to a Cure? Researchers at centres in the US and Scotland have discovered ways to target Leukaemic Stem Cells (LSCs).

Researchers at centres in the US and Scotland have discovered ways to target the Leukaemic Stem Cell (LCSs). TKI therapies do not eradicate the disease in the majority of people as they do not switch off the abnormal stem cell that all CML cells develop from. In a small minority develop resistance to this class of drug. Teams on both sides of the Atlantic have been working hard to find ways to target Leukaemia Stem Cells.

Findings, reported online in Cancer Discovery, raises prospects for improved therapy of TKI-resistant CML and/or eradication of disease by addition of EZH2 inhibitors “Our findings suggest inhibition of Ezh2 should be considered as a way to eradicate CML when used in combination with current targeted therapies. It offers a promising approach to shortening the duration of therapy in order to achieve a cure."

In another paper published simultaneously by Cancer Discovery, a team of Scottish scientists report similar findings using a different research approach.

"In CML, TKI-persistent LSCs remain an obstacle to cure, and approaches to eradicate them remain a significant unmet clinical need. We demonstrate that EZH2 and H3K27me3 reprogramming is important for LSC survival, but renders LSCs sensitive to the combined effects of EZH2i and TKI. This represents a novel approach to more effectively target LSCs in patients receiving TKI treatment."