Leukaemia UK

Leukaemia UK We are Leukaemia UK. We believe research has the power to stop leukaemia devastating lives.

Leukaemia UK funds ground-breaking research to stop leukaemia devastating lives by accelerating progress in diagnosis, treatment and care.

Research isn’t always about discovering a new drug or finding a new treatment target. Sometimes, an equally important st...
20/08/2026

Research isn’t always about discovering a new drug or finding a new treatment target. Sometimes, an equally important step is understanding what is happening inside cells. 🧫🔬

The aim of this study, led by Dr Daniel Coleman (one of our previous John Goldman Fellows), was to develop a way of measuring MAPK activity: an important signalling pathway that helps cells grow, survive and respond to their environment.

Dr Coleman and colleagues developed modified viruses, called lentiviral vectors, that carry a gene producing a light-emitting protein called luciferase. In simple terms, the more light the cells produce, the more active the MAPK pathway is.

They tested different versions of these tools in leukaemia cells.

One version, LEGO-AP1x6-GM55, was able to produce a strong signal when MAPK was switched on. Importantly, drugs that block MAPK signalling reduced the signal, showing that the system was accurately detecting MAPK activity.

🔸 Why this matters:

Having a way to see and measure MAPK activity in living cells in almost real time gives researchers a powerful tool for understanding how cells behave in health and disease.

In the long term, this could help us better understand how cancer cells use signalling pathways to grow and survive, how different mutations affect these pathways, and how cells respond to drugs that target them.

Read more about Dr Coleman’s research here: https://www.exphem.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0301-472X%2826%2900124-4

Could you walk 100km this September to help stop leukaemia devastating lives? 🏃👟Join a community of people who are lacin...
18/08/2026

Could you walk 100km this September to help stop leukaemia devastating lives? 🏃👟

Join a community of people who are lacing up their trainers, stepping outside and raising vital funds this Blood Cancer Awareness Month.

Every kilometre you walk and every pound you raise will help to fund research into kinder, more effective treatments for people affected by leukaemia.

And you can do it your way: lunchtime strolls, dog walks or weekend hikes. It’s entirely up to you!

👕 We’ll send you your very own Leukaemia UK t-shirt once you raise your first £50.

Ready for the challenge? Sign up here 👉 https://socialsync.app/flw/rf-r9yd76819vn7e

12/08/2026

An incredible discovery! Some of our funded researchers have identified a molecule in a key protein which could help to stop cancer cells from growing. 💡

Dr Konstantinos Tzelepis and his colleagues, including our funded-researcher Dr Brian Huntly, have identified an important role for a previously unrecognised molecule within a protein called NAT10.

🔸 But what exactly are RNA and NAT10?

RNA is a molecule found in our cells that helps carry out the instructions needed to make proteins. NAT10 is a protein that interacts with RNA and has attracted interest as a potential target for treating cancer.

Dr Tzelepis and his colleagues wanted to understand how NAT10 helps cancer cells grow. They discovered that a specific part of NAT10, called its RNA helicase domain, helps cancer cells multiply and promotes tumour growth.

🔸 What did they find?

The researchers found that NAT10 helps cells make ribosomes – the cell’s protein-making factories – by binding to a type of RNA called 18S ribosomal RNA. It also changes this RNA in a way that leads to ribosomes with fewer chemical modifications.

These altered ribosomes appear to give cancer cells an advantage, helping them grow and multiply faster.

🔸 What could this mean for the future?

Overall, this study reveals a previously unknown way in which NAT10 can promote cancer growth as well as a new target for future treatments, the helicase domain of NAT10.

While more research is needed, understanding exactly how cancer cells use NAT10 could ultimately help researchers develop new ways to stop tumours from growing.

Read more about the research: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-76383-w

Nina, aged 5, was diagnosed with blood cancer in October last year, just weeks after starting reception class in school....
11/08/2026

Nina, aged 5, was diagnosed with blood cancer in October last year, just weeks after starting reception class in school. 🩸

Her mum, Sam, had noticed that Nina had large unexplained bruises on her legs, arms and forehead. She was so tired that she was falling asleep in class and wasn’t excited by usual activities.

“About a week before she was diagnosed, I took her to soft play with her friend and could see she just wasn’t into it,” said Sam.

“I remember saying to the other mum there, ‘If I Google her symptoms it says leukaemia, but I know I’m being silly thinking it’s that’. I just thought I was being an overprotective parent.”

Sam took Nina to her local GP, who sent them straight to the hospital.

After a number of tests, Nina was diagnosed with B-Cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL).

She began chemotherapy treatment and steroids the next day, on her fifth birthday. The five-week induction phase was gruelling for Nina - she lost her hair, her stomach and face swelled, and she felt grumpy and sad.

She was then placed on Blinatumomab - an immunotherapy treatment which is administered 24 hours a day via a ‘pump’ in a large backpack - which “changed things” for Nina.

In January this year, she began returning to school gradually, and hopes to return full time in September.

“Nina is amazing and such an inspiration,” said Sam. “She’s a really confident little girl and she just got on with it. 🧡

“Now we just want her to complete her treatment with as few complications as possible, and she can go and live her life like any other normal child.”

Read Nina’s full story here: https://www.leukaemiauk.org.uk/stories/ninas-story/

Fantastic news! People affected by chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) in England now have more treatment options. 👏Foll...
07/08/2026

Fantastic news! People affected by chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) in England now have more treatment options. 👏

Following evidence we submitted alongside other patient organisations and clinical experts, and with the help of our patient advocate, we are pleased to see that NICE has recommended acalabrutinib plus venetoclax as a treatment option for adults with previously untreated CLL.

🔸 What does this mean?

While patients in England already had access to frontline treatments including venetoclax plus obinutuzumab, ibrutinib plus venetoclax and acalabrutinib alone, acalabrutinib plus venetoclax alone was not routinely available on the NHS.

This recommendation therefore broadens the range of treatment options available to newly diagnosed patients.

We hope to see a recommendation soon for this drug combination with obinutuzumab, as well as without - an outcome we had also hoped to secure.

🔸 About the treatment

Acalabrutinib and venetoclax are targeted therapies that work in different ways to stop CLL cells from growing and surviving. Using the drugs together offers a fixed-duration treatment approach, which may allow some patients to achieve deep and lasting remissions without the need for continuous treatment. 🧡

“Every day I worry about relapse. Every period of illness I jump to the worst-case scenario. I still don’t think I’ve fu...
04/08/2026

“Every day I worry about relapse. Every period of illness I jump to the worst-case scenario. I still don’t think I’ve fully accepted how this has changed my life.”

Billie was just 28 when she began experiencing persistent fatigue, severe bone pain and unexplained weight loss.

Following blood tests and a bone marrow biopsy, she was diagnosed with B-Cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) - a type of leukaemia which is almost unheard of in Billie’s age group.

Billie underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy, before receiving a stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor in Germany.

But her recovery was challenging. Her new cells had attacked her nervous system, and she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition.

She spent over a year as an inpatient in hospital, battling countless infections and lost sight in one eye.

Sadly, her leukaemia then returned and she underwent a second stem cell transplant. And in 2019, it was discovered she had kidney failure. She had four years of dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant from her husband, Tony.

Despite everything she's faced, Billie has transformed her experience into advocacy - sharing her story, supporting other patients and championing better care for those affected by leukaemia.

And she’s gradually adapting to life as the ‘new’ Billie - with her biggest supporters, her mum and Tony, by her side. 🧡

“Although it’s hard living in fear, life is more precious, every milestone feels more remarkable, celebrations are more joyful and special moments are more cherished,” says Billie.

Read Billie's inspiring story here: https://www.leukaemiauk.org.uk/stories/billies-story/

A huge thank you to the 24 amazing people from Templeton LPA who recently walked around Cardiff Bay to raise money for L...
31/07/2026

A huge thank you to the 24 amazing people from Templeton LPA who recently walked around Cardiff Bay to raise money for Leukaemia UK in support of a colleague who is currently undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). 🧡

Wearing bright orange Leukaemia UK t-shirts and carrying orange balloons, they turned Cardiff Bay brilliantly orange - and we couldn’t love it more!

Plus, they were joined by some very enthusiastic four-legged friends! 😍🐾

Together with their funds from a brilliant bake sale earlier in the year, the team have raised a fantastic £3,000 for life-saving leukaemia research.

Thank you so much for your incredible support and for helping to change lives. ✨

From a leukaemia diagnosis to winning three Gold medals at the European Transplant Games! 🥇🥇🥇Nick was a fit and healthy ...
30/07/2026

From a leukaemia diagnosis to winning three Gold medals at the European Transplant Games! 🥇🥇🥇

Nick was a fit and healthy guy in his 20s when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) back in 2018.

He underwent three rounds of chemotherapy, before receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor in Germany via the Anthony Nolan register.

Thankfully, after spending nearly two months in hospital recovering, Nick’s transplant was a success.

In 2024, after regaining his fitness, Nick competed in swimming in the British Transplant Games and won Gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke.

Last year, he represented Team GB in the World Transplant Games and, just a few weeks ago, he won an incredible THREE gold medals in the European Transplant Games, as well as a silver and a bronze. 😲

Simply incredible! 👏

“The experience from the games is always amazing, and we've all made friends for life, not just in Team GB but even some of our competitors!” said Nick.

“It's amazing to hear about everyone’s own journey through illness and recovery, and how important sport has been in helping them with a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Join us in congratulating Nick on a fantastic achievement!

A drug commonly used to treat parasitic worm infections could offer a new way to tackle one of the most difficult-to-tre...
29/07/2026

A drug commonly used to treat parasitic worm infections could offer a new way to tackle one of the most difficult-to-treat childhood blood cancers. 👏🩸

Dr Noelia Che, one of our John Goldman Fellows, and her colleagues at UCL investigated whether the drug mebendazole could be repurposed and used in combination therapies to treat childhood acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

While survival rates for childhood leukaemia have improved dramatically in recent decades, current treatments are intensive and can lead to relapse and long-term side effects.

Dr Che focused her research on a protein called MYB, which AML cells rely on to survive and grow.

She and her colleagues found that mebendazole can reduce levels of MYB within leukaemia cells, depriving them of a key survival mechanism and causing them to die. 🔬

Dr Che hopes this treatment approach could form part of a new generation of targeted therapies, which attack cancer cells more precisely while reducing damage to healthy tissue.

She and her colleagues are now exploring further how mebendazole can be used in combination with newer targeted therapies rather than chemotherapy, identifying a promising and less toxic treatment strategy for children with AML.

Read more about Dr Che’s research here: https://www.leukaemiauk.org.uk/news/research-blog-a-new-target-for-paediatric-aml/

*It is important to note that this research is still in early stages, but it shows one of the many routes that researchers are working to fight leukaemia through new strategies, repurposed medications and innovative combinations.

Did you know that children with Down syndrome (DS) are around 20 times more likely to develop acute leukaemia than child...
28/07/2026

Did you know that children with Down syndrome (DS) are around 20 times more likely to develop acute leukaemia than children without Down syndrome?

They are also uniquely affected by transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM) - a condition which causes a temporary build-up of abnormal blood cells that is present at birth. 🩸

Although TAM often resolves on its own, around 1 in 5 children with TAM will later develop myeloid leukaemia of Down syndrome (ML-DS), a type of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

A new study has uncovered an important clue in understanding why and how this happens. 💡

Rsearchers have found that, as TAM progresses to ML-DS, the abnormal blood cells appear to reduce the activity of genes that help the immune system recognise and destroy them.

They also discovered that children with lower levels of a protein called HLA-DR during the TAM stage were more likely to progress to ML-DS, which could one day help to identify which children are at greatest risk.

Importantly, the researchers also found evidence that “hiding” from the immune system may not be unique to Down syndrome-associated AML but could also play a role in other forms of AML.

Every new discovery like this helps researchers build a clearer picture of how leukaemia develops and move closer to developing new ways to predict, prevent and ultimately stop the disease.

Read more about the study here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41375-026-03074-2

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