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Research
Successful treatment of a child with acute monoblastic leukaemia who relapsed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: A rare lineage switchRishi Sury Kotecha MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research rishi.kotecha@health.wa.gov.au Co-Head, Leukaemia
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Updates in infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the potential for targeted therapyOutcomes for infants diagnosed under 1 year of age with KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have remained stagnant over the past 20 years. Successive treatment protocols have previously focused on intensification of conventional chemotherapy, but increased treatment-related toxicity and chemoresistance have led to a plateau in survival.
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Antifungal use in children with acute leukaemia: state of current evidence and directions for future researchInvasive fungal disease (IFD) remains a common and serious complication in children treated for leukaemia. Antifungal prescription in children with leukaemia presents unique challenges, particularly due to variation in IFD risk between and within leukaemia treatment protocols, drug toxicities and interactions between antifungals and chemotherapeutic agents.
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The critical role of the bone marrow stromal microenvironment for the development of drug screening platforms in leukemiaExtensive research over the past 50 years has resulted in significant improvements in survival for patients diagnosed with leukemia. Despite this, a subgroup of patients harboring high-risk genetic alterations still suffer from poor outcomes. There is a desperate need for new treatments to improve survival, yet consistent failure exists in the translation of in vitro drug development to clinical application.
The main aim of our Leukaemia Translational Research Team is to test innovative therapeutic approaches, with a focus on clinical translation of this knowledge, to improve the outcomes of children suffering from leukaemia.
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FDA-approved disulfiram as a novel treatment for aggressive leukemiaAcute leukemia continues to be a major cause of death from disease worldwide and current chemotherapeutic agents are associated with significant morbidity in survivors. While better and safer treatments for acute leukemia are urgently needed, standard drug development pipelines are lengthy and drug repurposing therefore provides a promising approach.
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Pharmacokinetics of PEGasparaginase in Infants with Acute Lymphoblastic LeukemiaPEGasparaginase is known to be a critical drug for treating pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), however, there is insufficient evidence to determine the optimal dose for infants who are less than one year of age at diagnosis. This international study was conducted to identify the pharmacokinetics of PEGasparaginase in infants with newly diagnosed ALL and gather insight into the clearance and dosing of this population.
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Challenges and considerations for antifungal prophylaxis in children with acute myeloid leukemiaChildren receiving treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at high risk of invasive fungal disease (IFD). Evidence from pediatric studies support the efficacy of antifungal prophylaxis in reducing the burden of IFD in children receiving therapy for AML, yet existing antifungal agents have specific limitations and comparative data to inform the optimal prophylactic approach are lacking.
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Systematic In Vitro Evaluation of a Library of Approved and Pharmacologically Active Compounds for the Identification of Novel Candidate Drugs for KMT2A-Rearranged LeukemiaPatients whose leukemias harbor a rearrangement of the Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL/KMT2A) gene have a poor prognosis, especially when the disease strikes in infants. The poor clinical outcome linked to this aggressive disease and the detrimental treatment side-effects, particularly in children, warrant the urgent development of more effective and cancer-selective therapeutics.
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Genome-wide association meta-analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms and symptomatic venous thromboembolism during therapy for ALL and lymphoma in caucasian childrenThe largest GWAS meta-analysis conducted to date associating SNPs to venous thromboembolism in children and adolescents treated on childhood ALL protocols