An American team of researchers has identified eight genes that may play a significant role in leukemia. The study carried out at Washington University in St Louis, by Richard Wilson, who attributed the breakthrough to a fast pace of whole-genome sequencing that is now available at a low price. Wilson said the genes that cause other illness and diseases may also be discovered soon, which will help scientists not only understand the disease but to find a treatment for it as well.

Till now almost all the studies have used the "usual suspects" approach, in which appropriate participants are chosen, sequenced and observed for any difference between tumor cells and normal tissue. This approach does not however work well for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

According to the report in New Scientist magazine, Wilson and his colleagues used a recently developed sequencing method to look at the entire genome of cells from an AML tumor, and from the patient's skin, which helped them uncover 10 differing genes between the tissues.

Out of these 10 genes two were already known as cancer causing genes, with the remaining eight genes being linked with cancer for the first time. As per the researchers, three genes out of these eight are tumor-suppressors. The researchers have still not established if the newly discovered genes actually cause leukemia or are just mildly liked with leukemia or both.

Leukemia is a cancer of blood cells and bone marrow which is characterized by an abnormal multiplication of cells. Patients suffering from leukemia experience an almost dysfunctional immune system.