Children with Down's syndrome are more likely to get leukaemia: stem-cells hint at why

Children with Down's syndrome exhibit a staggering 150-fold increased risk of leukaemia, attributable to structural changes in genome configurations of fetal liver stem-cells.

The extra chromosome 21 in Down's syndrome alters how DNA is organized, exposing mutation-prone areas which are critical for leukaemia evolution.

By understanding the genomic modifications in liver stem-cells linked to Down's syndrome, researchers aim to provide insights that may eventually lower leukaemia risks.

The ongoing research on fetal liver stem-cells is pivotal for formulating strategies that could mitigate leukaemia risk in children diagnosed with Down's syndrome.

Read at Nature