Expertise
- Novel CRISPR technology
- Chemical compound screening
- Drug development
- Mouse studies
- Leukemia genomics
Scientific Publications and Presentations
The OSUCCC – James Experimental Hematology team of experts often present their findings at national and international meetings to medical experts from around the world. This includes a recent update on the groundbreaking chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) drug called ibrutinib, which in the five-year follow-up studies is still seeing patients remain well and in remission on this therapy.
Other successes presented on the national scientific stage include other treatment agents developed by the Experimental Hematology experts and showing remarkable progress in blood disorder patients, including those patients who are not able to tolerate ibrutinib.
Beat AML
The OSUCCC – James Experimental Hematology Lab and James Cancer Hospital is one of the main national sites working on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Beat AML Master Clinical Trial led at The James by principal investigator, Alice Mims, MD, MSCR.
This clinical trial is designed to both speed up testing for new acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatments and pioneer precision medicine in AML. AML is a highly complex disease with many subtypes, so once a patient is diagnosed, this trial aims to provide rapid turnaround for genomic testing, enabling each patient to be assigned a specific drug regimen tailored for their disease.
Targeted Therapies
One challenge of blood disorder research is the ability to isolate tumor cells from normal blood cells so that the tumor cells can be studied individually. Additionally, based on a patient’s specific genomic makeup, they may be able to be directed to experimental treatments — not otherwise available — that may have a higher likelihood of effectiveness.
The Experimental Hematology experts are also working on targeted drug and immune drug trials. These are designed to find out if moving away from chemotherapy whenever possible and using targeted drug treatments with less serious side effects would be better for certain patients.
For example, several trials are looking at oral drugs, immune therapies or their combinations. Patients take these medications either daily or intermittently, and to date, many patients have achieved very durable remissions.