New centre targets leukaemia research
A new centre that aims to further research on paediatric acute leukaemia, the most common form of childhood cancers, was opened on 4 March at the Centre for Translational Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine). The VIVA-NUS Centre for Translational Research in Acute Leukaemia (CenTRAL),a partnership between the School and VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer (VIVA), was made possible through a $10 million contribution by donors and partners brought together by VIVA.
The new facility seeks to improve cure rates and quality of life for children with leukaemia through more accurate disease classification and prediction, and determination of treatment response. It will be led by Associate Professor Allen Yeoh and Professor Dario Campana, both from the Department of Paediatrics at NUS Medicine.
VIVA-NUS CenTRAL will also build on a study recently done by Assoc Prof Yeoh, together with researchers from Unidad De Oncologia Pediatric in Guatemala, the Japanese Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group, and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the US, which found that NUDT15 gene variations inherited by children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) can lead to severe side effects. The research was published in leading medical journal Nature Genetics in February.
The study, which involved 270 children with ALL from Singapore, Guatemala and Japan, discovered that NUDT15 variants alter the metabolism of mercaptopurine, a class of chemotherapy medication crucial in curing ALL. This leaves patients intolerant of standard drug doses and at risk for treatment-disrupting toxicity. The investigators also found that these gene variations are more prevalent in Asian children, with 20 per cent of Singapore children in the trial carrying the variations.
Thus, screening for NUDT15 variants will allow doctors to potentially personalise chemotherapy doses based on one’s genotype, and avoid toxicity without compromising treatment effectiveness.
“Patients with ALL on the study will undergo comprehensive tests that will accurately stratify their risk of relapse so that appropriate doses of chemotherapy can be given. In addition, we will determine upfront if they can tolerate the normal doses of mercaptopurine,” explained Assoc Prof Yeoh, who is also a senior consultant in the Division of Paediatric Haematology-Oncology at the National University Cancer Institute.
NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said that the centre’s opening marked a milestone in the development of more effective treatments for leukaemia. “I am immensely grateful for the support and active involvement of VIVA, in partnership with the Children’s Cancer Foundation, the Tote Board and Singapore Turf Club as well as the Lee Foundation, which is a powerful testimony to the spirit of collaboration that has enabled us to make such strong progress in our common cause against this cancer,” he said.
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