NCI funds Ohio State study of AML treatment resistance

Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and the University of California San Francisco have received a five-year, $3.46 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate why some older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) respond to treatment while others do not. The project will focus on identifying biological signals, or biomarkers, that could help clinicians predict which patients are likely to benefit from treatment and which are at greater risk of resistance or relapse.

AML is a blood cancer that affects more than 20,000 Americans annually, according to the Ohio State announcement. Most affected patients are over age 60, and the release states that many die of the disease within a short time. For older adults with newly diagnosed AML, a regimen called VenHMA, which combines a hypomethylating agent with venetoclax, a drug that inhibits the BCL2 gene, is the current standard of care. However, approximately one-third of older patients do not respond to VenHMA, while others relapse during treatment without receiving a stem cell transplant.

The grant-funded work will analyze blood samples collected through the OPTI-AML clinical trial, led by Ohio State hematologist Uma Borate. That trial was conducted at major academic medical centers in the United States and funded by Blood Cancer United; it examined the effectiveness of different venetoclax doses in older adults with newly diagnosed AML. The new research will use those samples to explore the biological features associated with response, treatment failure and relapse. Ann-Kathrin Eisfeld, the project’s co-investigator, will lead large-scale bulk sequencing efforts, while Catherine Choy Smith of UCSF will serve as a principal investigator and Linde Miles of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will participate as an additional co-investigator.

The project is intended to address a major limitation in current care: clinicians have limited ability to predict in advance which patients will benefit from venetoclax-based therapy or are likely to relapse. By identifying biomarkers, the researchers hope to support more informed treatment decisions earlier in a patient’s care and clarify the causes of treatment resistance. The team also aims to generate knowledge that could guide development of new options for patients whose leukemia returns or stops responding to therapy. Because the grant supports research rather than a completed clinical trial, its potential to improve outcomes remains a goal; the announcement does not establish that biomarker-guided treatment selection or new therapies will improve survival in older adults with AML.

Subject of Research: Biomarker research for treatment response and resistance in older adults with acute myeloid leukemia

Article Title: NCI grant-funded study at Ohio State to focus on resistance to AML treatment in older adults

Article References: NCI grant-funded study at Ohio State to focus on resistance to AML treatment in older adults. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: acute myeloid leukemia, treatment resistance, venetoclax, older adults, biomarkers, precision medicine, clinical trial samples, cancer genomics, National Cancer Institute, Ohio State University, grant-funded, Ohio