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Invasive fungal disease in children with acute myeloid leukaemia: An Australian multicentre 10-year reviewInvasive fungal disease (IFD) is a common and important complication in children with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We describe the epidemiology of IFD in a large multicentre cohort of children with AML.
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Outcomes for Australian children with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated with blinatumomabWe report on the Australian experience of blinatumomab for treatment of 24 children with relapsed/refractory precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) and high-risk genetics, resulting in a minimal residual disease (MRD) response rate of 58%, 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 39% and 2-year overall survival of 63%. In total, 83% (n = 20/24) proceeded to haematopoietic stem cell transplant, directly after blinatumomab (n = 12) or following additional salvage therapy (n = 8).
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RUNX2 regulates leukemic cell metabolism and chemotaxis in high-risk T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemiaT cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy with inferior outcome compared with that of B cell ALL. Here, we show that Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) was upregulated in high-risk T-ALL with KMT2A rearrangements (KMT2A-R) or an immature immunophenotype. In KMT2A-R cells, we identified RUNX2 as a direct target of the KMT2A chimeras, where it reciprocally bound the KMT2A promoter, establishing a regulatory feed-forward mechanism.
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Precision-guided treatment in high-risk pediatric cancersRecent research showed that precision medicine can identify new treatment strategies for patients with childhood cancers. However, it is unclear which patients will benefit most from precision-guided treatment.
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Murine bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells undergo molecular changes after a single passage in cultureThe rarity of the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) population poses a significant challenge for MSC research. Therefore, these cells are often expanded in vitro, prior to use. However, long-term culture has been shown to alter primary MSC properties.
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Combining CRISPR-Cas9 and TCR exchange to generate a safe and efficient cord blood-derived T cell product for pediatric relapsed AMLHematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is an effective treatment for pediatric patients with high-risk, refractory, or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, a large proportion of transplanted patients eventually die due to relapse. To improve overall survival, we propose a combined strategy based on cord blood (CB)-HCT with the application of AML-specific T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cell therapy derived from the same CB graft.
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novel small molecule that kills a subset of MLL-rearranged leukemia cells by inducing mitochondrial dysfunctionThis study thus identified a novel small molecule that rapidly kills MLL-rearranged leukemia cells by targeting a metabolic vulnerability
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Vaccine-preventable disease following allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant in Western AustraliaThere is a high incidence of vaccine-preventable morbidity post-allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in West Australian children
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KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukaemiaKMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) represents a high risk subtype of childhood ALL. Historical treatment strategies have comprised of intensification with conventional chemotherapy. However, outcomes have remained consistently poor compared to the advances that have been seen for other ALL subtypes, particularly for infants diagnosed before their first birthday
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Fusionfinder: A software tool to identify expressed gene fusion candidates from RNA-seq dataThe hallmarks of many haematological malignancies and solid tumours are chromosomal translocations, which may lead to gene fusions.