It's one of the most common types of leukemia in the Western world, and it's still incurable to this day.
That's why a researcher from the University of Melbourne in Australia is hoping to use a grant from the Leukemia Research Foundation to develop a cure, reports the BBC.
Dr. Daniel Utzschneider's goal is to discover the "kryptonite" that causes T cells to become "exhausted" and thus unable to fight off cancer, per a press release.
Once that's identified, his team plans to use the CRISPR/Cas9 genome sequencing technology to target those factors.
"This work will significantly expand our understanding of T cell immunity and may well lay the foundation for the development of new immunotherapiesthat can be used alone or in combination with existing treatmentsthat can be used alone or in combination with existing treatments to improve clinical health outcomes for blood cancer patients," says Utzschneider.
CLL is the most common type of leukemia in the Western world, and it's still considered incurable underscoring the urgent need to find new treatments, notes the press release.
(Click to read about another cancer that's still curable.)
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Breathe Magic, an international program that incorporates specially adapted magic tricks and performance skills into therapy programs to improve physical and mental health outcomes for people of all ages, will be working or the benefit of children in Australia.