Aggressive form of leukemia linked to defective 'protein factory'

(KU Leuven) 20 to 40 percent of the patients with multiple myeloma -- a type of leukemia -- have a defect in the ribosome, the protein factory of the cell. These patients have a poorer prognosis than patients with intact ribosomes. At the same time, they respond better to a drug that already exists. These are the findings of a study by the Laboratory for Disease Mechanisms in Cancer at KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Belgium.