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Leukaemia Translational Research

The main aim of our Leukaemia Translational Research Team is to test innovative therapeutic approaches, with a focus on clinical translation of this knowledge, to improve the outcomes of children suffering from leukaemia.

Age-based pegaspargase dosing is safe and achieves therapeutic levels in infants with ALL: report from COG AALL15P1

Rishi S. Kotecha MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research rishi.kotecha@health.wa.gov.au Co-Head, Leukaemia

Therapeutic opportunities from dissecting the pre-B leukaemia bone marrow microenvironment

Laurence Rishi S. Sébastien Cheung Kotecha Malinge BPharm (Hons) MBA PhD MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD PhD Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research

Systematic In Vitro Evaluation of a Library of Approved and Pharmacologically Active Compounds for the Identification of Novel Candidate Drugs for KMT2A-Rearranged Leukemia

Patients whose leukemias harbor a rearrangement of the Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL/KMT2A) gene have a poor prognosis, especially when the disease strikes in infants. The poor clinical outcome linked to this aggressive disease and the detrimental treatment side-effects, particularly in children, warrant the urgent development of more effective and cancer-selective therapeutics.

The bone marrow microenvironment of pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia at single-cell resolution

The bone marrow microenvironment plays a key role in leukemia progression, but its molecular complexity in pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common cancer in children, remains poorly understood. To gain further insight, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize the kinetics of the murine BMM during B-ALL progression.

Defining the fetal origin of MLL-AF4 infant leukemia highlights specific fatty acid requirements

Infant MLL-AF4-driven acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a devastating disease with dismal prognosis. A lack of understanding of the unique biology of this disease, particularly its prenatal origin, has hindered improvement of survival. We perform multiple RNA sequencing experiments on fetal, neonatal, and adult hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from human and mouse.

Viridans Group Streptococci in Pediatric Leukemia and Stem Cell Transplant: Review of a Risk-stratified Guideline for Empiric Vancomycin in Febrile Neutropenia

Viridans group streptococci (VGS) are an important cause of sepsis in immunosuppressed children. We reviewed the effectiveness of risk-stratified addition of vancomycin to empiric febrile neutropenia therapy among 107 children with leukemia or undergoing an allogeneic transplant.

Influence of wild-type MLL on glucocorticoid sensitivity and response to DNA-damage in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Rearrangement of the mixed-lineage leukemia gene (MLL) is found in 80% of infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is associated with poor prognosis and re

Silencing of TESTIN by dense biallelic promoter methylation

Aberrant promoter DNA methylation has been reported in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and has the potential to contribute to its onset and outcome

Gene-based outcome prediction in multiple cohorts of pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Children's Oncology Group study

Continuous complete clinical remission in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is now approaching 80% due to the implementation of aggressive...