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Background & Significance:Pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) emerges in virtually all cases from B cell precursors that are arrested at the pre-B cell receptor checkpoint. In a gene expression survey of early B cell development, we found specific upregulation of FOXM1at this developmental stage. FOXM1belongs to the forkhead box transcription factor family and is a key regulator of cell growth by promoting cell cycle progression and has been implicated in progression of solid tumors. Therefore, we characterized the function and regulation of FOXM1in normal B cell development as well as in pre-B ALL.