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Kids born with Down syndrome are at high risk of an array of health problems. One of the lesser-known complications is their increased risk of childhood leukaemia.
Dr Laurence Cheung is doing everything he can to end the threat of childhood leukemia. His research has the potential to change countless lives, but he also has another important job – being a dad to three beautiful children.
Rishi S. Laurence Sébastien Kotecha Cheung Malinge MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD BPharm (Hons) MBA PhD PhD Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research
Sébastien Malinge PhD Laboratory Head, Translational Genomics in Leukaemia, Senior Research Fellow (University of Western Australia), Adjunct Senior
The outcome of infants with KMT2A-germline acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is superior to that of infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL but has been inferior to non-infant ALL patients. Here, we describe the outcome and prognostic factors for 167 infants with KMT2A-germline ALL enrolled in the Interfant-06 study.
Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is a common and important complication in children with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We describe the epidemiology of IFD in a large multicentre cohort of children with AML.
This report provides detailed characterization of carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) in a young child and in the absence of defined therapeutic guidelines for pediatric CUP, the successful treatment strategy described should be considered for similar cases.
We report on the Australian experience of blinatumomab for treatment of 24 children with relapsed/refractory precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) and high-risk genetics, resulting in a minimal residual disease (MRD) response rate of 58%, 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 39% and 2-year overall survival of 63%. In total, 83% (n = 20/24) proceeded to haematopoietic stem cell transplant, directly after blinatumomab (n = 12) or following additional salvage therapy (n = 8).
The prognosis for high-risk childhood acute leukaemias remains dismal and established treatment protocols often cause long-term side effects in survivors. This study aims to identify more effective and safer therapeutics for these patients.
Presenting features, biology and outcome for childhood leukaemia are known to vary by ethnic origin, geographic location and socioeconomic group. This study aimed to compare presentation patterns, follow-up and clinical outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children with acute leukaemia in Australia, and to assess the impact of remoteness and area-based socioeconomic disadvantage on outcome.