Acute myeloid leukaemia: New test improves survival time

Bone marrow testing can detect very low levels of residual leukaemia that the usual blood tests do not pick up, enabling treatment to be started earlier. — Wikimedia Commons

A highly sensitive test that detects traces of disease in the bone marrow of patients with a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer could help double their chances of survival, a first-of-its-kind trial has found.

The 10-minute procedure – which involves an injection in the hip bone every three months – identified signs of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) returning in patients before it showed in blood tests.