A team of researchers led by a Brown University cancer biologist found that when they introduced mutated blood cancer cells into mice and tracked them over time, the cancer cells affected not only non-mutated cells, but also the entire blood-forming system.

The study, published in the journal Blood, showed that non-mutated blood-producing cells were impacted significantly by the presence of the cancer cells.

“Even low numbers of mutated cancer cells profoundly affected the blood-producing system and bone homeostasis,” says senior study author Patrycja Dubielecka, PhD, an associate professor of medicine. “We realized that there would be some impact of introducing the cancer cells, but the extent of how profoundly both the blood-forming system and bone biology have changed was absolutely stunning to see.”

The findings have implications for how blood cancers are treated, she adds. Currently, when these types of malignancies are found early in relatively young patients, the typical approach involves “watchful waiting” and helping patients manage symptoms, Dubielecka says.

“Based on our findings, this strategy needs to be revised,” she says. “The moment that mutated blood cancer cells are detected in the system, the effort should really be directed toward shrinking the frequency of this clone that carries the mutation—because we know that over time this clone will induce significant damaging changes that will be difficult or even impossible to reverse.”