NSW Health and Medical Research

Improving treatment selection for patients with leukaemia

Hunter Medical Research Institute

Grant:
  • Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant
Chief Investigator/s:
  • Associate Professor Nicole Verrills

What is the issue for NSW?

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a devastating blood cancer. It kills patients in weeks if left untreated. Over 1,100 Australians are diagnosed with AML every year. AML is highly fatal, taking the lives of over 1,000 Australians annually. Many drugs are approved for treatment of AML, however no two leukaemia’s are the same, making it difficult to predict which treatment will help a patient. Traditional methods use the gene mutations in the patient’s cancer to predict the best treatment, however this has not proven effective for AML. This research team has developed a new method which may improve treatment matching for leukaemia patients, and boost survival. The approach uses the patient’s leukaemia cells to test approved therapies. It predicts how the therapies will work before giving them to the patient. This way, patients receive treatments that are effective against their individual leukaemia.

What does the research aim to do and how?

This research will test a new method, AML ROADMAP. It aims to predict therapy responses in AML patients. We use gene and protein data, along with drug sensitivity information from the patient’s leukaemia cells, to predict effective treatments. We must test this approach’s specificity and sensitivity. Then, we can test it in clinical trials to guide patient treatment plans. To do this, the AML ROADMAP will be performed for 100 AML patients.