Scientists have made a significant breakthrough in overcoming drug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia, a rare and devastating blood cancer.

In a new study, researchers from the University of South Australia and SA Pathology's Centre for Cancer Biology describe how they have discovered a way to suppress a specific protein that promotes resistance to drugs commonly used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.

Professor Stuart Pitson, one of the lead authors of the study, says the finding could revolutionize the treatment of AML, a disease that has claimed the lives of professional golfer Jarrod Lyle, high-profile American journalist Nora Ephron, and filmmaker Lynn Shelton.