A variation of an acne drug may be a potential treatment for adult leukemia according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In this type of leukemia, white blood cells turn malignant at an immature stage of development. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. The drug is known as tretinoin and is in a class of chemicals called retinoic acid and is related to vitamin A. The form of leukemia that appears to respond is acute promyelocytic leukemia. The malignant, immature white cells (known as myelocytes) flood the blood stream, producing fatigue, fever, weight loss and bleeding. Patients with this type of leukemia have a piece of chromosome 17 that has reattached to chromosome 15.
A variation of an acne drug may be a potential treatment for adult leukemia according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In this type of leukemia, white blood cells turn malignant at an immature stage of development. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. The drug is known as tretinoin and is in a class of chemicals called retinoic acid and is related to vitamin A. The form of leukemia that appears to respond is acute promyelocytic leukemia. Patients with this type of leukemia have a piece of chromosome 17 that has reattached to chromosome 15.