Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive form of blood cancer. It affects people of all ages but is most common in those over 65. Around 150 people are diagnosed with the disease each year in Norway. Men are affected slightly more often than women. Fewer than 5 in 100 patients over the age of 65 survive.

This type of leukemia arises in the bone marrow, where blood cells are produced. The only treatment that can cure the disease is stem cell transplantation, which is highly intensive and therefore not available to everyone, including elderly patients, due to its severe potential side effects.

In a new study, researchers have examined how cancer cells develop in the bone marrow and whether it might be possible to stop them.