Abstract
Kinase inhibitors such as imatinib (Gleevec) have improved the outlook for many patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and related blood disorders. But such drugs fail to target the leukemia stem cell population and may not be curative. Krause and Van Etten discuss several clinical studies that suggest that interferon-α may provide a solution by selectively eliminating leukemic stem cells–although only more basic research will tell us whether this is true and how it may happen.