High blood sugar levels increase the rate of in-hospital deaths by almost 40 percent in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a study published in Cancer and led by Dr. Naeem Ali and colleagues at Ohio State. This effect was seen even in patients with mild increases in blood sugar levels.

The risk of developing sepsis was increased among such patients with hyperglycemia, according to the team, however, sepsis alone did not explain the relationship between the high blood sugar and increased mortality risk.

According to Dr. Ali, it is not clear if tight control over AML patients' blood sugar levels would improve outcomes as it does among critically ill patients. However, this study does "provide an impetus for further investigation in this area."

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients whose cancer cells have a gene mutation called MLL-PTD, which usually predicts a return of the disease after remission, may remain disease-free longer when given aggressive therapy.

Such AML patients respond poorly to standard therapies and relapse within a year. However, for AML patients who lack the mutation, four in 10 are cured.

This new study, from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, suggests that treating AML patients who have the MLL-PTD mutation with aggressive therapies such as an autologous stem cell transplant while they are in remission may extend their disease-free survival. An autologous transplant uses stem cells taken from the patient's own blood.

About 13,000 new cases of AML are expected this year and about half will have cancer cells with damage. Determining the type of damage can direct doctors to determine the best therapy.

In 1998, Hyundai joined the fight against pediatric cancer. The Hope On Wheels tour, through the Jimmy Fund, have been helping kids fight cancer with corporate contributions of over $7 million to hospitals across the country. The Hope On Wheels national tour features a white Hyundai Tucson SUV covered with the colorful handprints of pediatric cancer patients from all over the country. Francesca, a 9-year-old, two-time cancer survivor, is the 2006 Hyundai Hope On Wheels Spokes-kid.

In 2003, Francesca was diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma, a form of bone cancer that affects three in 1 million children under the age of 14. Five months of chemotherapy, surgeries and then more chemotherapy followed. In 2004, Francesca was diagnosed with a more lethal type of cancer, secondary acute myeloid leukemia, with a cure rate of 10 percent or less in most patients. Francesca needed a bone marrow transplant, but none of her family members proved to be a donor match. Francesca's doctors at UC Davis found a match through a national search of donated umbilical cord tissue, and she received the transplant in March 2005. On March 22, 2006, Francesca celebrated her one-year anniversary in remission. When she grows up, Francesca wants to become a doctor so she can find a cure for cancer.