Indiana University School of Medicine cancer researchers have identified a potential way to use existing, accessible drugs to combat juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) by targeting a specific inflammatory pathway. Read more: https://firstwordpharma.com/story/7627533

This agent is more like a lock-and-key approach aimed at the biology driving the leukemia itself. The hope is not just survival, but a better life after survival, because for children, beating cancer isn't the end of the story. Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/emory-university-team-explores-promising-new-therapy-for-childhood-leukemia-with-fewer-toxic-effects/

A team of scientists has uncovered new evidence that some cases of a subtype of childhood leukaemia may develop before birth, shedding light on how the disease evolves over time. Read more: https://www.icr.ac.uk/about-us/icr-news/detail/new-study-traces-rare-form-of-childhood-leukaemia-back-to-before-birth

Pediatric Non-Hispanic Black patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at increased risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) during treatment, according to research published in Cancer Medicine. Read more: https://www.cancertherapyadvisor.com/news/pediatric-non-hispanic-black-aml-all-patients-acute-kidney-injury/

New research has endorsed a long‑standing idea explaining why acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) – the most common cancer in children – appears abruptly in early life, often in otherwise healthy individuals, with no obvious environmental trigger. Read more: https://www.icr.ac.uk/about-us/icr-news/detail/childhood-leukaemia-and-germs--research-reveals-the-critical-importance-of-timing

Led by experts including Dr. David O'Connor (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health), the study found children and young people with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can be treated safely with significantly less intensive chemotherapy. Read more: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-gentler-blood-cancer-treatment-boost.html

A research team identified three genes connected to a rare form of childhood leukaemia and found that clinically available drugs had a positive influence on these genes in tests on mice, increasing rates of survival. Read more: https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/repurposed-drugs-could-improve-treatment-for-rare-infant-leukaemia/68964/

UC Irvine-led study found that exposure to previously unknown PFAS chemicals was associated with a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. Read more: https://news.uci.edu/2026/04/27/forever-chemicals-may-be-linked-to-childhood-leukemia/

Now, Cincinnati Children’s is working with New Zealand-based BioOra, Ltd, to launch a clinical trial that would bring a lower-risk, “third-generation” CAR-T therapy—called Alta-cel—to children and teens with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Read more: https://scienceblog.cincinnatichildrens.org/clinical-trial-to-evaluate-safer-car-t-cell-therapy-for-children/

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common form of childhood cancer. In this type of cancer, which affects blood cells, one of the most common abnormalities is the presence of cells with an excess of chromosomes (hyperdiploidy), a condition that leads to chromosomal instability. Now, a study published in Cell Reports reveals that this chromosomal instability caused by hyperdiploidy reduces the proliferation of the affected cells, delays their differentiation an