Leukemia stem cells cause treatments to fail, but findings open new avenues to overcome resistance

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the HI-STEM Stem Cell Institute have deciphered a key mechanism that contributes to treatment failure in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). They show that there are not just one, but four different subtypes of leukemia stem cells. This diversity could explain why one of the most important AML drugs does not work sufficiently in some patients or loses its effectiveness over time—resulting in the return of leukemia.