Melbourne: Researchers in Australia have discovered a new way to kill cancer cells in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most aggressive and hard-to-treat forms of blood cancer. The team found that AML cells, especially stem cells that drive relapse, rely on a common molecule called heme to survive and keep multiplying. When this process is blocked, the cancer cells die through a newly identified form of cell death known as cuproptosis.

According to Namibia Press Agency, "By blocking AML cells from producing heme, we can switch on cuproptosis, a unique form of cell death, and effectively kill the cells most responsible for causing a cancer relapse," said Alexander Lewis, a postdoctoral researcher at Peter MacCallum Cancer Center. Lewis, the lead author of the research published in Cell, conducted the study with multiple Australian research institutes. He emphasized that the discovery of this fundamental weakness in AML cells opens the door to new therapies that are potentially more powerful and longer lasting.

Each year, about 900 Australians are diagnosed with AML, with half experiencing relapse after remission. The median survival for relapsed patients is between four and six months. The discovery could lead to new treatments that not only kill AML cells but also prevent the disease from returning after initial therapy. Lewis added that the new approach may be effective even in AML that has become resistant to standard drugs.

The study also identified additional metabolic pathways to combine with heme-blocking strategies for enhanced treatment efficacy, according to the statement from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center.