Scientists find that occupational exposure to benzene, a chemical commonly used as a solvent and in oil-related products, is associated with increased risk of developing non-lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and other diseases. Following this discovery, workers begin taking steps to protect themselves from benzene exposure and reduce their cancer risk.

Large trial shows that using the anthracycline drug daunorubicin (Cerubidine, Rubidomycin), in combination with cytarabine (ara-C), is more effective at causing complete remissions of acute myelocytic leukemia – one of the most common leukemias in adults – than the previous standard drug, doxorubicin (Adriamycin). Over the following decade, researchers evaluate similar drugs, such as idarubicin (Idamycin), that provide similar, and possibly better, remission rates.

The world's first transplant of bone marrow from a sibling donor is successfully performed in Minnesota in an infant with a severe immunodeficiency syndrome. Ten years later, bone marrow transplantation is successfully used to cure lymphoma. These discoveries usher in a new era in which bone marrow transplantation becomes a viable option for treating – and sometimes curing – leukemias, lymphomas and other blood diseases. Much of this progress can be attributed to the research of E. Donnall Thomas, who received the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work in the field. Subsequent refinements have enabled doctors to treat leukemias, lymphomas, and myelomas using patients' own marrow (autologous transplants) or with donations of stem cells obtained from umbilical cord blood.

Various studies show that the drug cytarabine (ara-C) has activity against leukemias and is highly effective for treating a type of the disease known as acute myelocytic leukemia. Over time, the drug becomes a critical component of chemotherapy for adults and children with this form of leukemia, and researchers learn that precise timing and dosing of the drug is critical to successful treatment. The drug is still widely used today, often in combination with other chemotherapy drugs.

Investigators in Philadelphia identify a chromosomal abnormality linked to many leukemias. A decade later, researchers discover that this abnormality results when parts of two chromosomes – chromosomes 9 and 22 – switch places in a phenomenon called translocation. It later becomes the target of one of the first-ever targeted cancer treatments, imatinib (Gleevec), which transforms treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia and other cancers.

Early studies explore ways to protect healthy tissue in the body from the side effects of intense cancer treatment. Leon Jacobson and others discover that shielding a mouse's spleen from radiation can protect the mouse from otherwise lethal radiation. Eventually, scientists learn that the body recruits stem cells, which are found in the spleen and bone marrow, to protect and heal itself from radiation damage. This finding paves the way for the development and widespread use of stem cell transplantation in patients with lymphoma and leukemia, who often receive intensive radiation therapy and chemotherapy to treat their disease.