Convert and conquer: the strategy of chronic myelogenous leukemic cells.

Emerging evidence is contributing to explain how leukemias disrupt normal blood cell production. In this issue of Cancer Cell , Welner and colleagues show that, during the development of chronic myeloid leukemia, mutated cells transform normal hematopoietic progenitors into "leukemic like" cells through IL-6 secretion, proposing a new cellular target.