Development of a clinical program for myeloid cancer prevention
George Vassiliou
MBBS, PhDUniversity of Cambridge
Project Term: February 1, 2024 - January 31, 2029
The majority of myeloid cancers remain incurable. We previously showed that individuals at risk can be identified years in advance, indicating that prevention may be a viable alternative to treatment. Here, we propose a program of work to establish a clinical platform for myeloid cancer prevention. This includes development of a screening strategy, improved understanding of myeloid cancer evolution, identification of treatment targets and establishment of a specialized clinic to deliver therapy.
The myeloid cancers encompass myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), affect ~10 per 100,000 individuals per year and remain lethal to the majority. Most cases arise from the shared ancestor of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and individuals en route to developing these cancers can be identified years in advance. These observations raised hope that myeloid cancer prevention is a viable alternative to treatment. The aim of this application is to make myeloid cancer prevention a clinical reality. The work is a continuation of a previous LLS grant called “Prevention of myeloid cancers by understanding their pre-clinical evolution”.