The study, led by researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and published in Cancer Discovery, used long-term genetic tracking to understand how chronic blood cancers develop over time.
Researchers focused on myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of rare blood cancers that begin in the bone marrow, where blood cells are produced. These cancers often progress slowly and can remain stable for years before becoming more dangerous.
By analysing DNA from blood cells, scientists created genetic “family trees” that allowed them to trace how cancerous cell populations evolved.
The research showed that patients whose conditions later became more severe had accumulated additional genetic changes long before doctors could detect major clinical changes.
The team followed 30 patients with chronic blood cancers and examined more than 450 samples through repeated genomic testing.
Some participants were monitored for up to 25 years, providing researchers with a rare long-term view of how these diseases progress.
The findings suggest that future cancer care could use regular genetic monitoring to identify high-risk patients earlier, allowing doctors to provide more personalised treatment and closer follow-up.
Researchers also found that some people who are currently diagnosed with certain blood cancer conditions may not actually have cancer. In patients without common mutations linked to MPNs, genetic patterns appeared more consistent with normal ageing rather than true cancer development.
Scientists say the discovery could help doctors avoid unnecessary treatments for some patients while ensuring that those at greater risk receive early medical attention.
Dr Daniel Leongamornlert, the study’s first author, said that combining genome sequencing with long-term medical records helped researchers understand how blood cell populations change over time and why some cancers remain stable while others progress.
The researchers believe that advances in genomic technology could eventually transform how blood cancers are diagnosed, monitored and treated, moving healthcare closer to predicting disease progression before serious symptoms appear.
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