Surrey receives over £250,000 to combat aggressive childhood leukaemia

The University of Surrey has been awarded funding to help propel research into pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a particularly aggressive form of childhood cancer with tragically low survival rates. The grant, over £250,000, is a joint initiative by the CCLG: The Children and Young People’s Cancer Association and the Little Princess Trust .

The project, spearheaded by Dr Maria Teresa Esposito (Principal Investigator) and Dr Lisie Meira (Co-Investigator), will be researching new therapeutic interventions for children diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Some forms of AML present an especially grim prognosis, with only 20 to 50% of infants and children surviving five years post-diagnosis. While initial responses to chemotherapy can be positive, relapse rates are alarmingly high – 47 to100%, leaving patients with very limited options.

Our focus is on the SET gene, which we've identified as being over-expressed in AML patients and correlating with a poorer prognosis. We've already made promising discoveries, showing that “switching off” the SET gene in lab models halted the growth of KMT2A and RUNX1::RUNXT1-mutated AML cells, which account for 40% of pediatric AML cases Dr Maria Teresa Esposito, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry

Our aim is to understand why inhibiting SET stops leukemic cell growth and to test new, non-immunosuppressive drugs that specifically target SET. The current treatments for pediatric AML, while improved, still lead to unacceptable long-term side effects and early mortality. We need to find safer, more effective alternatives. Dr Lisie Meira, Lecturer in DNA Damage and Ageing

The project will involve collaborators from the University of Surrey (Dr Sneha Pinto), UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (Prof Owen Williams), Princess Maxima Center for Paediatric Oncology, Netherlands (Prof Olaf Heidenreich), The Ohio State University (Dr Pui Kai Tom Li) and Xinjang University China (Dr Changyhing Guo).

Surrey receives over £250,000 to combat aggressive childhood leukaemia

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