Lai Chan, PhD

Incompatible Cancer-causing Pathways May Innovate Leukemia Treatment

A Cleveland Clinic researcher is studying how a cancer-causing pathway in leukemia patients could be used to potentially cancel out another pathway. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of the most common childhood cancers, accounting for about 30% of all childhood cancer cases and 70% of all leukemia cases. This disease happens when the white blood cells in bone marrow grow out of control, thus causing cancer.

Among ALL types, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most common. Current treatments involve targeted therapies aimed at blocking the main signaling pathway that causes and sustains the cancer. However, these treatments often stop working overtime, and the cancer can come back. Only about half of the patients survive when the cancer returns.

Lai Chan, PhD, is focusing on two ALL-signaling pathways and testing in the lab how they oppose each other’s function and suppress cancer growth. “Typically, we would expect these pathways to work together to promote cancer,” says Dr. Chan. “But what we have found is that some of these pathways actually don’t like each other. When we put them together, it could actually be counterproductive to cancer growth.”

Dr. Chan says this is a fairly new concept because the traditional model of cancer requires changes in multiple pathways. But researchers have found that sometimes that may not be a good thing. She says if this approach works, then it could lead to new and innovative therapies for not just leukemia but other cancers as well.

“Working at Cleveland Clinic is unique because of the collaborative environment between the scientists and clinicians,” says Dr. Chan. “We have a higher chance to translate our research from the bench to the bedside. Everyone at Lerner Research Institute is very collaborative and very supportive, and we have all the resources necessary to pursue our research.”