
Although current treatments can cure 80 to 90 percent of cases, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains the second leading cause of cancer deaths in children. Patients with a resistant form of the disease, who relapse following successful treatment or who have other high risk features have few treatment options. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is also difficult to treat in children.
In a first-of-its-kind study, investigators at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center are testing precision cancer medicine in children and young adults with relapsed or high-risk leukemias. The goal is to determine whether powerful next-generation DNA sequencing can spot mutations or genetic changes in leukemia cells that can be targeted by cancer drugs. …