Part of the process of developing and testing drugs involves seeing if treatments work in similar conditions, and science is full of surprises.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of childhood cancer, diagnosed in some 5,000 children every year in the United States.

The computational power available to researchers has grown exponentially over the years, allowing broad analysis of genetics involved in cancer to get new ideas for exploring new methods of therapy.

Several groups looking at data from broad genetic studies have noticed differences in cancer risk for different populations according to ethnic make up.

A project to sequence genetic mutations in a particularly aggressive form of childhood leukemia developed a list of common mutations - the first step in developing adequate pharmaceutical targeted therapy.

People with chronic myeloid leukemia ( CML ) have been treated with interferon therapy for years, but this treatment can sometimes fail. And when it does, a targeted therapy hits the mark, offering these patients long-term benefits.

Drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors are currently state-of-the-art treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia ( CML ). These medicines don't cure the disease, in part because leukemia has a powerful defense system. Recent research suggests there's a way around these defensive linemen.

Another heartbreaking fact about Down syndrome is that children with this condition are  increased risk of developing leukemia. And researchers are now beginning to understand why.

Methotrexate is the one drug children with leukemia must have in order to beat the potentially deadly disease. But it was on the brink of becoming unavailable, until the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) stepped in to - literally - save lives.

Treating childhood cancers usually requires medications, some of which can be toxic to the heart. So will these drugs cause heart problems later on in life?  Recent research asked just that question.