Gene Profile Predicts Leukemia's Course

Every year, nearly 10,000 Americans are diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL); it's the leading type of leukemia in the United States, usually striking those over 50. About 60 percent of patients will develop a very slow-moving form of the disease, characterized by prolonged survival and no immediate need for aggressive therapy. The remaining 40 percent of CLL patients develop a much more deadly, fast-moving malignancy requiring swift and intensive treatment. Trouble is, doctors have had no cheap, easy and accurate means of determining which of these two disease types a patient has. Now, a team of researchers report that a group of 13 "microRNA" genes form a kind of signature that separates "bad" CLL from the less-virulent form of the disease.