Acute myeloid leukaemia is the first tumour in which a population of leukaemia stem cells was described. These are cells with the same properties as normal stem cells, so they have the capacity to reproduce malignant cells. For this reason, treatment must eradicate them so that the disease can be eliminated completely. We are trying drugs that have traditionally been used for the treatment of other diseases in an attempt to eliminate these malignant cells. We have discovered that there are some neurone receptors that might be very useful and we have patented the process to be followed to block the leukaemia cells.

The combination of these drugs with other chemotherapy drugs would increase patients' responses to treatment and reduce the levels of toxicity. The study has been patented under the name of Leukos Biotech and is a forerunner for a clinical trial to test this discovery in patients. Furthermore, one of the most promising aspects of this treatment is that it implies no toxicity for normal cells.