Biology and Treatment of Human Myeloid Cancers

A single faulty stem cell can spark a chain of genetic errors that, decades later, erupts as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), the most common aggressive adult blood cancer. This programme traces that entire journey—from the first silent mutations in blood-forming cells to the fully formed malignancy—and aims to turn the immune system against it. Blood cancers are the fifth most common cancers in the UK, and AML is notoriously difficult to treat. Current therapies often fail because they cannot distinguish between cancerous and healthy stem cells, or because the disease evolves too quickly. This research addresses a fundamental gap: we do not know which early genetic events are essential for leukaemia to develop, nor how to harness the body’s own immune defences to eliminate it once it does. If successful, the programme could produce new immune-based treatments that target AML with greater precision, reducing relapse rates and the need for toxic chemotherapy. The work is primarily fundamental science—mapping the cellular and molecular steps from pre-cancer to full disease—but such understanding has historically paved the way for targeted therapies in other cancers. A clearer picture of how AML begins and persists could eventually change how it is diagnosed and treated.