Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow (the soft, spongy center of bones) that progresses quickly and requires immediate treatment. It is one of the most frequently diagnosed acute leukemias in adults in the United States, and there are approximately 19,940 newly diagnosed cases each year.
The internationally renowned experts at the OSUCCC – James Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program are dedicated to developing and conducting basic, translational, clinical and outcome-based research that advances innovative breakthroughs and treatments for patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
A Distinguished Legacy of Transformative Research
The OSUCCC – James has a distinguished, decades-long legacy of leukemia research and education replete with significant advancements in the treatment and cure of hematologic malignancies. One of the most prolific physician-scientists of our time is the late Clara Bloomfield, MD, internationally renowned pioneer in blood cancer research and former director of the OSUCCC.
Well known for her 50-plus years of groundbreaking research, one of the areas in which Dr. Bloomfield made the most significant and transformative discoveries is adult AML. During her many years at the OSUCCC – James, she revolutionized science-based, personalized treatment for patients with blood diseases. Her work led to genetics being included in the diagnosis of acute leukemias in the 2001 World Health Organization (WHO) classification and in the most widely adopted clinical practice guidelines in oncology: those of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
Read more about Dr. Bloomfield’s groundbreaking work and accomplishments.
Dr. Bloomfield’s dedicated and impassioned approach to research provided the framework for what has become the internationally recognized Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program at the OSUCCC – James. Inspired by her trailblazing contributions and devotion to learning and mentorship, the expert research scientists and principal investigators at the OSUCCC – James continue advancing her work, remaining dedicated to research excellence and leading studies that are integral to FDA approvals, defining new targeted therapies and diagnostic tests, and offering world-class training both in the clinic and in state-of-the-art laboratories.
Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program
Supported by several large, ongoing collaborative or network research grants, the Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program is further bolstered by the OSUCCC – James Experimental Hematology Laboratory, which conducts translational research and promotes collaborations across the university and nation to improve understanding of AML and to develop new therapies. The lab comprises 10 research teams and more than 85 individuals from across numerous medical and research disciplines, all of whom collaborate with one another (called interdisciplinary research teams).
Together with the Experimental Hematology Lab, the Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program team’s expertise includes:
- Predicting treatment outcome for cytogenetically normal AML
- Gene mutations that drive AML
- microRNA and gene expression changes in AML
- Molecular markers for patient stratification to predict treatment outcomes
- Biomarker-based treatment of AML
Collaborating for Successful Outcomes
For the world-renowned leukemia researchers at the OSUCCC – James, collaboration begins at home. A perfect example: The Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Program, which leverages expertise from every college across The Ohio State University, including scientists and clinicians from the seven health sciences colleges, the College of Engineering, Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as well as community health and education agencies, business partnerships and regional institutional network partnerships.
In addition to the many research projects at the OSUCCC – James, the Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program extends beyond the lab to promote additional collaboration and cooperation across a network of institutions. Their ongoing affiliations with the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN), for example, enable these internationally recognized experts to join forces with other clinicians and scientists to discover, validate and share critical findings that lead directly to improved treatment and prevention strategies for patients diagnosed with blood cancers and diseases. Through these affiliations, as well as through their work with European LeukemiaNet (ELN), these research scientists continually share their expertise and extensive experience with others on a worldwide stage as national principal investigators and protocol team members on several novel clinical trials.
The power of this multidisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration is virtually unlimited. For example, researchers at the OSUCCC – James and elsewhere showed how using a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen to prepare older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for blood and marrow transplants resulted in higher rates of disease-free survival relative to the more typical treatments usually given to these patients. Typically, the prognosis for older patients with AML is poor. But for older AML patients who received a reduced-intensity regimen prior to their transplant, the disease-free survival rate reached 39 percent.
Clinical Trials
For patients with leukemia, clinical trials can mean hope.
The OSUCCC – James has hundreds of open clinical trials at any given time, with some of the world’s latest discoveries available to clinical trial patients right here in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, patients have access to more of this nation’s leading-edge, targeted treatments and drugs than at most hospitals in the region.
For example, the OSUCCC – James is one of the main national sites working on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Beat AML” master trial, which gives hope to older patients newly diagnosed with AML.
Led by Alice Mims, MD, this clinical trial aims to turn genomic testing rapidly (less than seven days) for patients ages 60 years and older, enabling each patient to be assigned a specific, targeted drug regimen. Additionally, based on each individual patient’s genomic makeup, they may be directed toward novel treatment strategies that may have a higher likelihood of effectiveness.
Additionally, a new phase I clinical trial offered at the OSUCCC – James will treat patients with relapsed or refractory AML using a novel universal natural killer cell approach. The trial will be conducted in partnership with Kiadis, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company.
Other current clinical trials include:
The Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program benefits from National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding to the OSUCCC – James, which supports the cost of conducting phase I and phase II clinical trials and facilitates the movement of promising phase II studies into phase III national trials.
As one of only a few institutions approved by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct phase I and II clinical trials on NCI-sponsored anticancer agents, the OSUCCC – James has access to more leading-edge, targeted cancer therapies than most hospitals across America. That translates to better outcomes, fewer side effects and even more hope.
Translational Research Accomplishments
The OSUCCC – James Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program experts often present their findings and accomplishments to medical experts from around the world through presentations, publications, and numerous national and international meetings and conferences they attend throughout each year.
Many of the research program accomplishments stem from studies conducted between the laboratory and clinic, and they involve several therapeutic agents that are active in treating patients with AML.
Recent publications include:
Expression and Functional Relevance of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells.
Bill M, Papaioannou D, Karunasiri M, Kohlschmidt J, Pepe F, Walker CJ, Walker AE, Brannan Z, Pathmanathan A, Zhang X, Mrózek K, LaRocco A, Volinia S, Bloomfield CD, Garzon R, Dorrance AM
Leukemia, March 11, 2019
Selective Targeting of NAMPT by KPT-9274 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Mitchell SR, Larkin K, Grieselhuber NR, Lai TH, Cannon M, Orwick S, Sharma P, Asemelash Y, Zhang P, Goettl VM, Beaver L, Mims A, Puduvalli VK, Blachly JS, Lehman A, Harrington B, Henderson S, Breitbach JT, Williams KE, Dong S, Baloglu E, Senapedis W, Kirschner K, Sampath D, Lapalombella R
Blood Advances, February 12, 2019
Randomized Trial of 10 Days of Decitabine ± Bortezomib in Untreated Older Patients With AML: CALGB 11002 (Alliance).
Roboz GJ, Mandrekar SJ, Desai P, Laumann K, Walker AR, Wang ES, Kolitz JE, Powell BL, Attar EC, Stock W, Bloomfield CD, Kohlschmidt J, Mrózek K, Hassane DC, Garraway L, Jané-Valbuena J, Baltay M, Tracy A, Marcucci G, Stone RM, Larson RA
Blood Advances 2, Dec. 26, 2018
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