Circulating Tumour DNA To Monitor Treatment Response And Resistance In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$876,950.00
Summary
Many cancers shed small amounts of DNA (ctDNA) into the patient’s bloodstream and recent advances in genomic technologies now allow levels of ctDNA to be accurately measured in the blood. Changes in ctDNA levels have potential to be used as specific markers of disease progression and/or response to cancer therapy. This project will evaluate if ctDNA can be used to monitor treatment responses and individualise treatment decisions in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Circulating Tumor DNA To Monitor Treatment Response And Resistance In Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$122,714.00
Summary
Many cancers shed small amounts of DNA into the patient’s bloodstream. Recent advances in genomic technologies now allow small levels of cancer DNA to be accurately measured in the peripheral blood. Changes in DNA levels have the potential to be used as specific markers of disease progression and/or response to cancer therapy. This project will evaluate if this DNA can be measured from a simple blood test to serially follow patients receiving treatment for mantle cell lymphoma.
Analysis Of Circulating Tumour DNA For Mutational Characterisation And Tracking Disease Progression In Multiple Myeloma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$908,676.00
Summary
Multiple myeloma is cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow and presents at multiple sites with dissimilar genetic information (GI) across these sites. Invasive biopsies of multiple sites are required to determine the GI. Cancer cells shed small amounts of DNA into the blood stream and this circulating DNA (ctDNA) contains GI from multiple cancer sites. This project will evaluate the utility of ctDNA to determine GI and to predict treatment response in MM patients.
Understanding How Second Primary Malignancies Arise Following Multiple Myeloma Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,768.00
Summary
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of white blood cells. Chemotherapy and new drugs that target cancer cells are the most effective therapies for multiple myeloma. However, these drugs also increase the chance of developing a secondary cancer that is different to the initial cancer. Little is known about how these cancers arise. I aim to find out how current therapies cause secondary cancers; with the hope of finding alternative therapies for multiple myeloma that do not cause secondary cancers.
FANC Gene Mutations In Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Biology And Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$900,780.00
Summary
We have found mutations in DNA repair genes in AML patients, and associated the presence of these with increased risk of developing AML. Our hypothesis is that the presence of these mutations leads to reduced efficiency of DNA repair, and increased risk of additional mutations and leukaemic transformation. Our aim is therefore to determine the changes associated with these mutations in blood cell precursors, and to investigate the potential of targeted therapies for this group of patients.
Defining The Myb-p300 Dependent Transcriptional Program In Myeloid Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$603,632.00
Summary
MYB is a “cancer gene” which turns other genes on or off. MYB is needed by leukaemia cells but also for normal blood cell formation. We have found that interaction between the MYB protein and a protein called p300 is more critical for growth of leukaemia cells than for normal cells. Here we aim to identify a set of MYB/p300 co-regulated genes that are needed by leukaemia cells for the continued growth or survival. Some of these genes may be targets for developing new leukaemia drugs.
Targeting Drug-Resistance In Paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$649,048.00
Summary
Leukaemia is the most common type of cancer in children but resistance to therapy continues to be a significant problem. This project will investigate the biology of drug-resistance and relapse using a mouse model that replicates the human disease. We hope to identify novel therapeutic targets that can be used in combination with existing therapies to improve outcomes in this disease, particularly for patients that develop drug-resistance such as those at the time of relapse.
Genome-wide Epigenetic Analysis Of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,469.00
Summary
Of all cancers in children, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia is the most common. To date, the causal mechanism(s) for leukaemia in children remain unclear. Although 5-year event-free survival rates are relatively high (up to 80%) it is still unclear why children expected to survive with a good prognosis, succumb to the disease. Therefore, there is still a need to further refine current diagnosis and prognosis parameters that will together lead to improved outcomes to children with leukaemia.