T-Minus 4 weeks: Exciting news from the American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology conference (ASPHO)
With 4 weeks left in our Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) fundraising campaign, we have some great news to share!
Last week at the American Society of Pediatric Hematology (ASPHO) annual conference in Pittsburgh, PA, Notable Labs co-presented exciting data from an ongoing research collaboration with Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
In the research collaboration Notable’s platform is being used to generate data around potential sensitivity to FDA-approved drugs for relapsed and refractory pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.
Dr. Schiff specifically presented the case study of a 15-year old AML patient who had relapsed disease following an allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), a patient group for which prognosis still remains grim.
While enrolled in a Children’s Oncology Group (COG) clinical study, Notable Labs began receiving serial research samples from Dr. Schiff’s patient.
Serial samples from the patient revealed diminishing sensitivity to the patient’s COG clinical study treatment regimen (sorafenib and 5-azacytidine) and above average sensitivity to a combination regimen that is not standard in AML, but frequently used in another blood cancer, multiple myeloma (bortezomib, panobinostat, and dexamethasone).
As the patient’s disease progressed on sorafenib and 5-azacytidine, Dr. Schiff elected to change the patient’s treatment protocol to bortezomib, panobinostat, and dexamethasone in May 2017, and after two cycles his bone marrow revealed a full donor chimerism and complete remission by morphology and flow cytometry.
The case study highlights several important points:
- Notable’s platform is a powerful tool for evaluating the sensitivity of small populations of leukemic blasts to novel drug therapies
- Results from Notable’s platform may also serve as a useful guide for treatment selection after failure of standard AML therapy
- Finally, further research may be warranted to investigate the clinical utility of bortezomib, panobinostat, and dexamethasone — a regimen that has historically been utilized in MM — for pediatric AML patients who have failed SCT.
As a friendly reminder, we have 4 weeks left in our LLS fundraising campaign. If you haven’t contributed yet, here’s how you can help:
DONATE: Donations can be made via THIS LINK. Every dollar counts! Importantly, many companies have gift matching programs, so make sure to see if your donation can be multiplied via your employer. All donations are fully tax deductible.
TELL FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN: Everyone knows at least one person who has been affected by cancer and many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients, but are also now used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers and are in clinical trials for patients with lung, brain, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. Please share this story with family and friends.
AUCTION ITEMS: This campaign culminates with a gala on the evening of Saturday, June 2nd in San Francisco that includes both a silent and live auction. If you have (or have access to) anything that may be a good item, please let me know — Think sports tickets/memorabilia, concert tickets, vacation homes, unique experiences, wine/alcohol. Silent auction items have typically been in $100 to $2,000 range, while live auction items have historically gone for $2,000+.
GRAND FINALE CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS AND TABLES: If you or your company would be interested in being a sponsor (starts at $5,000) or purchasing a table (starts at $2,500) please let me know.
Thanks for your support!
— Pete and Team Notable
