Teaching an old dog new tricks: An existing drug opens new possibilities for treating childhood leukemia

A new study has shown that the tumor-inhibiting gene TET2 is silenced in a large fraction of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. The scientists show that the gene can be reactivated by treatment with an existing drug, 5-azacytidine. The results suggest that 5-azacytidine may function as targeted therapy for ALL in children.