The outcome of infants with KMT2A-germline acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is superior to that of infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL but has been inferior to non-infant ALL patients. Here, we describe the outcome and prognostic factors for 167 infants with KMT2A-germline ALL enrolled in the Interfant-06 study. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• January 2022

We 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). ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• May 2021

Rishi Sury Laurence Sébastien Kotecha Cheung Malinge RS LC SM MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD BPharm (Hons) MBA PhD PhD Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research Laboratory Head, Translational Genomics in ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Projects

Our approach to hematopoietic progenitor cells mobilization resulted in highly effective HPC harvest in children and adolescents with high-risk cancers ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2020
• February 2020

We provide evidence that targeting leukemia-induced bone loss is a therapeutic strategy for pre-B ALL ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2018
• November 2018

Rare childhood cancers have not benefited to the same extent from the gains that have been made for their frequently occurring counterparts. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2015
• February 2015

Although neurocognitive, psychological and behavioural problems were noted for some patients during medical review, only 20% of patients were formally assessed. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2013
• May 2013

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) is characterised by diverse genomic alterations, the most frequent being gene fusions detected via transcriptomic analysis (mRNA-seq). Due to its hypervariable nature, gene fusions involving the Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain (IGH) locus can be difficult to detect with standard gene fusion calling algorithms and significant computational resources and analysis times are required. We aimed to optimize a gene fusion calling workflow to achieve best-case sensitivity for IGH gene fusion detection. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• September 2023

Infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by a high incidence of KMT2A gene rearrangements and poor outcome. We evaluated the value of minimal residual disease (MRD) in infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL treated within the Interfant-06 protocol, which compared lymphoid-style consolidation (protocol IB) versus myeloid-style consolidation (araC, daunorubicin, etoposide/mitoxantrone, araC, etoposide). ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• January 2021

Acute leukaemia is the most common childhood malignancy. Almost all cases are classified as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or acute myeloid leukaemia. Acute leukaemia of ambiguous lineage (ALAL) is a rare form of acute leukaemia that cannot be classified by a single lineage. Like other acute leukaemias, ALAL typically presents with nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, fever, or bleeding. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• June 2022

Infant MLL-AF4-driven acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a devastating disease with dismal prognosis. A lack of understanding of the unique biology of this disease, particularly its prenatal origin, has hindered improvement of survival. We perform multiple RNA sequencing experiments on fetal, neonatal, and adult hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from human and mouse. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• October 2021

T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a rare and aggressive lymphatic cancer, often diagnosed at a young age. Patients are treated with intensive chemotherapy, potentially followed by a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although prognosis of T-LBL has improved with intensified treatment protocols, they are associated with side effects and 10-20% of patients still die from relapsed or refractory disease. Given this, the search toward less toxic anti-lymphoma therapies is ongoing. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• January 2023