Blood test could predict future risk of leukaemia

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Blood test could predict future risk of leukaemia, study finds - A blood test could predict risk of developing leukaemia in the elderly population years in advance by identifying changes in blood cell production, according to new research. By identifying those most at risk it should be possible to provide preventive or early treatment in the future to improve patient outcomes, experts say. Leukaemia is often the result of the disruption to the fine balance in blood cell production where new cells are manufactured and old blood cells die. As we age, mutations in blood stem cells can mean that the altered cells can have a growth benefit over other blood cells and outnumber them in what is referred to as fitness advantage. Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow investigated how changes in fitness advantage that occur in blood production might provide clues to risk of developing leukemia depending on the type of mutation that occurs. Dr Tamir Chandra, a chancellor's fellow at the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, said: "We measured changes in the blood samples of 83 older individuals of the Lothian Birth Cohorts, taken every three years over a 12-year period. Using the combined knowledge of mathematicians, biologists and genome scientists, we set out to understand what these changes mean for our risk of developing leukemia as we grow older." The Lothian Birth Cohorts 1921 and 1936 are longitudinal studies of brain, cognitive and general ageing which have followed up individuals every 3 years between the ages of 70 and 82 for the 1921 cohort and the ages of 79 to 92 for 1936.