Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), is the most common form of leukemia in adults. AML is a deadly form of malignancy, the prognosis for which has not improved in the last two decades. More importantly, it is a malignancy that is seen in older adults, therefore the number of cases is likely to rise as the population ages.

Over the past 15 years, genetic mechanisms underlying AML have begun to unfold. Additional research in this area has helped identify key components and characteristics. Consequently, targeted therapy of AML is receiving much attention. It is the hope of researchers that as with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and the drug, Gleevec, a targeted therapy for AML will be discovered.


The Leukemia Stem Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Zeev Estrov
Epigenetic Mechanisms in AML A Target for Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Yasuhiro Oki and Jean-Pierre J. Issa
Chromosomal Translocations in AML: Detection and Prognostic
Significance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Nallasivam Palanisamy
Chromosomal Deletions in AML. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Lalitha Nagarajan
Genes Predictive of Outcome and Novel Molecular Classification
Schemes in Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Roel G.W. Verhaak and Peter J.M. Valk
Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Alterations in AML Biology and Therapy . . . 85
Derek L. Stirewalt and Soheil Meshinchi
Lineage-Specific Transcription Factor Aberrations in AML . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Beatrice U. Mueller and Thomas Pabst
Proleukemic RUNX1 and CBFb Mutations in the Pathogenesis
of Acute Leukemia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Michael E. Engel and Scott W. Hiebert
Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Mutated Nucleophosmin (NPM1):
Molecular, Pathological, and Clinical Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Brunangelo Falini
MicroRNAs: New Players in AML Pathogenesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Milena S. Nicoloso, Bharti Jasra, and George A. Calin
Murine Models of Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Julie M. Fortier and Timothy A. Graubert
Apoptosis in Leukemias: Regulation and Therapeutic Targeting . . . . . . . . 197
Ismael Samudio, Marina Konopleva, Bing Carter,
and Michael Andreeff
Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia: A Paradigm for Differentiation
Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
David Grimwade, Anita R. Mistry, Ellen Solomon,
and Fabien Guidez
Immunotherapy of AML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Gheath Alatrash and Jeffrey J. Molldrem
Therapy of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in Adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Gautam Borthakur and Elihu E. Estey
Subject Index.