Scientists have identified three groups of mutation causing Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, it is a cancer of white blood cells. The work has been published in Nature Genetics, and the researchers suggest their work on mice. And they said that it could lead to new treatments.

Every year nearly two thousand people are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.  According to the charity leukaemia and lymphoma research, the study showed invaluable clearance of the disease.

In this disease the bone marrow, which produces blood cells, starts churning immature white blood cells. This changes the balance of the blood. The white blood cells are undeveloped so not able to fight infection properly, and the number of red blood cells decreases that carry oxygen around the body.

If the disease is left untreated it can be fatal. At the Wellcome Trust Sanger institute the research group investigated that how this form of leukaemia arises, as there has been little progress in development of new drugs.