Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute
Edifici IMPPC
Can Ruti Campus
Ctra de Can Ruti, Camí de les Escoles s/n
08916 Badalona, Barcelona, Spain
Directions
Summary
Our research is focused on Acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) disease, including B-cell precursor and T-precursor ALL. We want to resolve questions that require a full range of research from from basic to clinical. We aim to provide the physician with new tools, by using basic research data that will have an impact on healthcare, in order to improve survival rates in patients with this type of leukaemia.
Research
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is still a non-curable neoplasia mainly in adult patients. The survival rates for ALL are much lower in adults than in children. The reasons for this survival difference lie largely in the higher frequency of poor prognosis subtypes of ALL in adults and a poorer tolerance of the treatment as age increases. Except for selected subgroups (i.e., Ph+ ALL), the current therapeutic protocols for ALL do not take into account the differences in the molecular background of the disease, and few new alternative therapies are only available in refractory or resistant ALL. Therefore, if we want to improve the survival of patients with ALL we first need to obtain detailed and relevant molecular information to enable doctors to accurately define the risk and decide on the treatment. Secondly, we need to have specific therapeutic alternatives available to apply to these new oncogenetic ALL subgroups.
Main Research Lines:
The current research of the group at the IJC Institute can be divided in two main areas:
1: Clinical research: Design and analysis of the results of the Spanish treatment protocols on adult ALL in the setting of the Spanish PETHEMA group (Programa Español de Tratamientos en Hematología).
2. Biologic and translational research:
The ALL Group is currently evaluating the frequency and prognostic significance of new genetic markers in B- and T- lineage ALL. The results of this study, which are in line with the results found by other ALL working groups, will be applied in the new therapeutic protocols in ALL of the PETHEMA group.
In addition, we want to assess the anti-leukemic effect of the available drugs that specifically target candidate genes in an in vivo model. We also want to check if copy number alterations (CNAs) identified in other blood neoplasias such as; Acute Myeloblastic Leukaemia (AML), Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CLL), or in solid cancers such as Melanoma and Breast Cancer, could also have an impact on ALL. We expect that the results obtained, will be used to re-classify ALL patients into different oncogenetic subgroups according to the predicted treatment response and the specific target therapy to be applied.
The identification of clonal heterogeneity in ALL at the time of diagnosis has introduced a high order of complexity to the disease. It is this clonal heterogeneity that is responsible for patient’s relapses, in which treatment has failed. Future projects in the group will be focused on the characterization of leukemic cells resistant to treatment using a genetic and functional approach.
Collaborations
- More than 50 hospitals belonging to the PETHEMA Group
- Hospitals of the Catalan Oncology Institute (ICO): Hospital Universitari Dr Josep Trueta, Girona; Hospital Duran i Reynals, Barcelona; Hospital Universitari Joan XXXIII, Tarragona and Hospital Verge de la Cinta, Tortosa
- Biomedical Research Centre of Salamanca (IBSAL)
- Hospitals collaborating with the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute projects: Hospital Clínc, Barcelona and Sant Pau Hospital, Barcelona
- Servei d'Hematologia i Servei d'Oncologia i Hematologia de la Infància i Trasplantament de Progenitors Hematopoètics Pediàtric de l'Hospital Universitari de la Vall d'Hebrón (Barcelona)
- Servei de diagnòstic de laboratori d'Hematologia de l'Hospital Sant Joan de Déu (Barcelona)
- Centro de Investigacion del Cancer (CIC-IBMCC)/ Hospital Clinico Universitario de Salamanca (HUS)/ Instituto Biosanitario de Salamanca (IBSAL) (CIC/HUS/IBSAL)
People
Name | Position | ||
---|---|---|---|
José María Ribera | ![]() | Group Leader | jmribera@carrerasresearch.org |
Eulàlia Genesca | ![]() | Postdoctoral Investigator | egenesca@carrerasresearch.org |
Jordi Ribera | ![]() | Postdoctoral Investigator | jribera@carrerasresearch.org |
Olga Garcia | ![]() | Statistician | ogarcia@carrerasresearch.org |
Selected publications
Frequency and clinical impact of CDKN2A/ARF/CDKN2B gene deletions as assessed by in-depth genetic analyses in adult T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
J Hematol Oncol 24 Jul 2018, 11 (1) 96. Epub 24 Jul 2018Incidence and outcome after first molecular versus overt recurrence in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia included in the ALL Ph08 trial from the Spanish PETHEMA Group.
Cancer 23 Apr 2019, . Epub 23 Apr 2019The poor prognosis of low hypodiploidy in adults with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is restricted to older adults and elderly patients.
Br. J. Haematol. 27 Mar 2019, . Epub 27 Mar 2019Prognostic significance of copy number alterations in adolescent and adult patients with precursor B acute lymphoblastic leukemia enrolled in PETHEMA protocols.
Cancer 1 Nov 2015, 121 (21) 3809-17. Epub 20 Jul 2015Current projects
Comparison of next generation sequencing (NGS) and high sensitivity citometry to asses minimal residual disease (MRD) in childhood and adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Project leader: | José María Ribera |
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Code: | PI14/01971 |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/01/2015 |
End date: | 31/12/2017 |
Identification of copy number alterations as targets for available drugs involved in T-ALL leukemogenesis and prognosis
Project leader: | Eulàlia Genesca |
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Code: | CELGENE T-ALL |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/01/2014 |
End date: | 31/12/2016 |
Exploring Mechanisms of Resistance in Adult and Pediatric T-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia;(A.Bigas,IMIM)&(J.M.Ribera-E.Genescà,IJC)
Project leader: | José María Ribera |
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Code: | GC16173697BIGA |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/11/2016 |
End date: | 31/10/2021 |
HARMONY Healthcare Alliance for Resourceful Medicines Offensive against Neoplasms in hematology
Project leader: | José María Ribera |
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Code: | 116026 HARMONY H2020 JTI-IMI2 2015-06 |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/01/2017 |
End date: | 31/12/2021 |
AMGEN Clinical Research Support
Project leader: | José María Ribera |
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Code: | Curs AMGEN ALL |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/01/2018 |
End date: | 31/12/2018 |
Apoyo científico / Docente Solicitud de ayuda a la investigacion en leucemia aguda linfoblastica
Project leader: | José María Ribera |
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Code: | AMG169 |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/01/2017 |
End date: | 31/12/2018 |
Estudi observacional prospectiu de tractament adaptat al risc de la LMA i les SMD a Catalunya
Project leader: | José María Ribera |
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Code: | SLT002/16/00433 |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/04/2017 |
End date: | 31/12/2019 |
Previous projects
Study of the frequency and prognostic significance of Copy Number Alterations and CpG island methylation status in adult B-precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia patients enrolled in risk-adapted protocols of the Spanish PETHEMA Group
Project leader: | José María Ribera |
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Code: | RD12/0036/0829 |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/01/2011 |
End date: | 30/06/2014 |
Grup de Recerca Emergent: Grup de Recerca d'estudi de les neoplàsies hematològiques del IJC-Campus Trias i Pujol
Project leader: | Francesc Solé |
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Code: | 2014SGR225 |
Funding: | |
Start date: | 01/01/2015 |
End date: | 31/12/2017 |