Although Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is one of the most curable forms of childhood cancer, 20 percent of children will relapse. In cases of relapse, prognosis is relatively poor.
The Children’s Leukemia Program at NYU Medical Center led by Hassenfeld physicians Dr. William Carroll and Dr. Elizabeth Raetz is designed to develop new treatments for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and other “refractory leukemias.”
As noted earlier, physicians are learning from NYU Medical Center’s ongoing research in the fields of cancer genomics and proteomics to identify pathways that drive cancer cell growth, an effort that has already yielded promising results.
Such agents will be integrated into conventional therapy and many of these new “novel” therapies are already underway.
By building on NYU Medical Center’s strength in basic science research, the research agenda of NYU Medical Center’s Children’s Leukemia Program takes two fundamental approaches.
First, doctors and basic scientists are working to identify new methods of customizing treatment so that children may receive effective therapy without unnecessary exposure to drugs or agents with potentially debilitating side effects.
Second, researchers have analyzed the genetic “fingerprint” of leukemia cells to develop novel therapies that specifically target the unique changes that occur in the cancer cell.
These therapies will be more effective in eradicating the cancer, while causing fewer side effects.
Investigators from NYU Medical Center and the Hassenfeld Children’s Center already lead nationwide clinical trials to deliver promising new agents to patients who desperately need them.
Dr. Carroll is Head of the Children’s Oncology Group ALL clinical trials unit that has developed the majority of protocols for children treated in North America.
Dr. Raetz leads three nationwide treatment protocols that seek to optimize the cure rate for children with ALL.
They have co-authored numerous publications on the therapy of childhood leukemia and serve as advisors on a number of national committees dedicated to improving the cure rate of this disease.
A number of novel clinical protocols are currently open at NYU for patients whose leukemia did not respond appropriately to conventional therapy and/or has recurred.
The Program is a world leader in developing a genetic blueprint of childhood cancer and has capitalized on the recent sequencing of the human genome and technical breakthroughs in genetic analysis.
