New clue to Down syndrome, leukemia link
By Nathan Seppa
From Atlanta, at a meeting of the American Society of Hematology
People with Down syndrome are at least 10 times as likely as people without it to develop leukemia. Scientists now report that a mutation in the JAK2 gene on chromosome 9 shows up in one-fifth of people who have Down syndrome and acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), suggesting that the mutation accounts for some of this increased risk. It’s the second mutation implicated in the Down-leukemia puzzle.