Funded by the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund
Our goal is to find better ways to treat children diagnosed with a blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is a devastating illness that affects around 500 kids in the United States every year. While many children respond well to current treatments, some don’t, and their cancer comes back, which can be very hard to treat. Our work focusses on a specific group of cells within the blood cancers called leukemia stem cells (LSCs). These cells can survive through treatment and cause the cancer to come back. So, we need new treatments that can specifically kill these LSCs. We’ve discovered that these LSCs rely on molecules called polyamines to survive. By decreasing the levels of polyamines using drugs, we can stop the LSCs from making proteins they need to stay alive. Our research suggests that a protein called eIF5A plays a big role in this process. Now, we want to test if drugs that block polyamine metabolism can stop AML from growing in models that mimic what happens in patients. We also want to understand exactly how eIF5A helps the cancer cells survive. If our experiments are successful, it could lead to new treatments for children with AML that have the potential to improve the outcomes for these children.
