Lilah Gibson
Research Mentor(s): Darren King
Mentor Department: Hematology-Oncology/Internal Medicine
Authors: Lilah Gibson, Darren King
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 63
Abstract
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. Patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia are often able to reach complete remission (CR) with induction chemotherapy. However, even after achieving CR, small amounts of cancer cells associated with AML can remain in the bone marrow. These cancer cells are not detectable under a microscope and are referred to as minimal residual disease (MRD). Some patients with MRD experience a relapse of AML while others do not. MRD can be identified and quantified through droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), a technique used to detect extremely small levels of cancer cells in the bone marrow and blood of AML patients in remission. By tracking a patient’s ddPCR results from the time of their diagnosis to CR to their potential relapse, healthcare workers can better understand their risk of relapse, monitor their response to treatment, and potentially tailor their ongoing treatment strategy. This information can help in making more informed decisions about the need for additional therapy, such as maintenance therapy or a bone marrow transplant, to potentially improve outcomes and prevent relapse. Further research into ddPCR’s predictive capabilities could offer deeper insights into the biology of AML progression and pave the way for more effective individualized treatment protocols. Building on the lab’s previous optimizations of ddPCR (Parkin et al., JCI, 2017), this research investigates two cohorts within our AML biorepository – one focusing on AML with the NPM1 mutation, a common driver mutation of AML, the other focusing on patients receiving a treatment regimen of decitabine and venetoclax, a more recent development in AML management with an unclear longitudinal depth of remission.
