Australian Researchers Say Cure for CLL by 2013

[Guest guest]

[To claim this is pretty irresponsible, IMO. Does this include the

inevitable failure in some patients? Included here as encountered on

the web. BTW, it has been known for decades that CLL cells die

rapidly outside the body, and growth factors from the tumor

microenvironment are necessary to keep the cells alive.]

Medical researchers in Australia are this week claiming two important

breakthroughs in the battle against leukaemia, which may lead to the

development of a cure by as early as 2013.

The team from Princess andra Hospital (PAH) in the Queensland

state capital of Brisbane have discovered a method that will keep

chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells alive outside the body, the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is reporting.

According to the report, the scientists, led by PAH director of

haematology Professor Devinder Gill, have been successful in finding

two " growth factors " that assist in keeping the cancer cells alive.

The next stage will be to find a way to block these, killing the

cancer cells.

The cancer occurs in the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by

an abnormal proliferation of blood cells in the body. According to

statistics released by the American Cancer Society in 2004, some

33,440 new cases of leukaemia were diagnosed in the United States

during that year alone. [Note: this includes all leukemias, not just CLL.]

The PAH team has said trial treatment using the breakthrough

discoveries should be available within five years.