Greaves and his team, who will present their findings at the American Society of Haematology meeting in San Francisco, hope their work will eventually lead to a vaccination that could prevent leukaemia. Children up to the age of 15 have a one in 2,000 risk of developing the disease. The scientists screened the blood of 530 babies and found the non-inherited gene abnormality for leukaemia in six infants. Scientists are not sure what causes the mutation, or error in the developing foetus, but they think it is due to a natural accident during development. The researchers are equally puzzled about the second trigger but suspect it could be the exposure to chemicals, radiation or infections.
Scientific evidence seems to be pointing towards infection.
Dr David Grant, the scientific director of the Leukaemia Research Fund, said the study would improve the understanding of leukaemia. Leukaemia occurs most often in children aged three to four years. In 80 per cent of cases, it is curable with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.