SOUTHAMPTON scientists have made a major breakthrough that could revolutionise the treatment of leukaemia patients.

Researchers at the University of Southampton have unlocked the secrets of the most common form of the killer disease, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).

Their pioneering work is set to pave the way for more effective treatments to be developed and could increase survival rates among patients across the world.

The discovery of these genetic “clues” means patients can now be tested for DNA defects when they are diagnosed, allowing doctors to predict with more accuracy how their disease will develop and how best to treat it.

This exciting breakthrough into the understanding of how the genetic make-up of patients with leukaemia can affect how they respond to treatment comes after a study of 200 people suffering with CLL.

Heading up the study, which was funded by Leukaemia Research, was Dr Jon Strefford of the University of Southampton.

Their work focused on searching samples of patients’ DNA for any abnormalities in their genetic code that may be affecting the treatment of their disease.

A million answers Dr Strefford said: “We used stateof- the-art technology that literally provides a million answers to scientific questions in a single experiment.

“We were able to investigate the entire genetic code of a patient with CLL, which allowed us to identify tiny changes in DNA that were contributing to the disease.”

Researchers found that patients with larger deletions on chromosome 13 had a much higher risk of developing an aggressive form of their leukaemia and responding poorly to standard treatment than patients who just had small defects on the chromosome.

“CLL develops at different rates in different people, so these results are really exciting.We have identified the DNA defects in patients that result in particularly aggressive forms of the leukaemia”, added Dr Strefford.

“Testing for this defect when a patient is diagnosed could be used to predict how their disease will develop and we could manage their treatment accordingly.”

Dr David Grant, scientific director of Leukaemia Research, which currently has £3,700,000 invested in 14 research projects in the city, added: “This research could have real benefits for patients.

“By identifying ‘clues’ in the DNA which tell us how the disease will develop, it will not only help to treat patients better and improve survival times, but can also lead to the development of new, more targeted drugs for the disease in the future.”