This conceptual model may provide an explanation on why the ROS/Myc/BRD4 axis is not indispensable for leukemia: while Myc overexpression and activation “burns the brakes” of tissue homeostasis and creates the conditions that enable Myc-driven carcinogenesis, excessive cellular stress and ROS enable alternative transcriptional programs that allow for development of leukemic stem cell clones. This evidence concerns the gene BRD4 and leukemia.