The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Blog

LLS-funded Researcher Publishes Breakthrough Article on AML

communityreply@lls.org — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:23:56 GMT

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is always excited to learn about the new discoveries our funded researchers are making. Ari Melnick, M.D., of Cornell Weill Medical College, has been working on ways to test thousands of genes at the same time for a recently recognized type of abnormality called methylation. He has been able to apply these state-of-the-art tests towards understanding the causes and better predicting the treatment-sensitivity of leukemias and lymphomas. Dr. Melnick is the senior author of a report published this month in the prestigious scientific journal, Cancer Cell and highlighted in the research commentaries in January issues of the LLS e-newsletters. Here is the summary of that article, entitled “DNA Methylation Signatures Identify Biologically Distinct Subtypes in Acute Myeloid Leukemia”:

We hypothesized that DNA methylation distributes into specific patterns in cancer cells, which reflect critical biological differences. We therefore examined the methylation profiles of 344 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Clustering of these patients by methylation data segregated patients into 16 groups. Five of these groups defined new AML subtypes that shared no other known feature. In addition, DNA methylation profiles segregated patients with CEBPA aberrations from other subtypes of leukemia, defined four epigenetically distinct forms of AML with NPM1 mutations, and showed that established AML1-ETO, CBFb-MYH11, and PML-RARA leukemia entities are associated with specific methylation profiles. We report a 15-gene methylation classifier predictive of overall survival in an independent patient cohort (p < 0.001, adjusted for known covariates).

Quest Diagnostics’ sponsorship and fundraising work on behalf of LLS has enabled us to support Dr. Melnick’s breakthrough work. We appreciate the time and energy their employees have given to help make this important research happen.

Learn more about this and other research by reading the January 2010 Commentary, written by Deborah Banker, Vice President, Research Communications, and learn more about acute myelogenous leukemia (also known as acute myeloid leukemia).

Have questions about blood cancer or LLS-funded research? Talk to one of our information specialists at 1-800-955-4572.

More blood cancer patients need to participate in clinical trials

communityreply@lls.org — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:34:33 GMT

At February’s third annual Texas Forum on Blood Cancers, Louis J. DeGennaro, PhD and chief scientific officer for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), stressed the need for more clinical trials for blood cancer patients.

“Companies may have drugs on the shelf that are approved for other cancers and may work in blood cancers, but haven’t been tested because of lack of money and lack of enough patients,” said DeGennaro at the opening session, “Accelerating the Development of New Blood Cancer Therapies.”

In case you didn’t know, LLS is working hard on making sure that more clinical trials are available to blood cancer patients by way of the Therapy Acceleration Program, otherwise known as TAP. The goal of the program is to bypass some of the hurdles that have typically been in place, and to make sure that patients have access to the therapies they need sooner rather than later. The patient can still expect to receive high quality treatment – it’s just going to be there sooner, which can be critical for those who are living with fast-acting cancers.

Learn more about the LLS Therapy Acceleration Program on www.LLS.org and find out more about clinical trials at www.LLS.org/clinicaltrials. Read more about the Forum in Dallas at www.curetoday.com.

Researchers: Apply for a Career Development Program Grant

communityreply@lls.org — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:01:57 GMT

Each year The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) awards research grants through the Career Development Program (CDP) to professionals who do important research related to cancer, including blood cancers. This research is critical in improving cancer treatment, and potentially in cancer prevention.

If you are a researcher and would like LLS to fund your research, visit our CDP webpage where you can learn more about what we award, as well as details on what we need from you.

Here are a few details:

Your letter of intent (required) is due by 3:00pm ET on September 15
Full applications are due by 3:00pm ET on October 1.
We will use proposalCentral for both the letter of intent and full application.

For more information, including guidelines and instructions, visit the CDP webpage.