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What causes therapy-related malignancies in childhood cancer survivors? Dissecting the etiology of second cancers

Project description

Insight into therapy-related malignancies

Childhood cancer survivors often present with therapy-related malignancies as a result of exposure to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, the mechanistic details of how these secondary malignancies emerge are poorly understood. The scope of the EU-funded SecondCANCERinKIDS project is to investigate how mutations accumulate in hematopoietic stem cells and give rise to therapy-related myeloid malignancies (t-MNs). For this purpose, scientists will study hematopoietic cell lineages in children before and after they receive chemotherapy to determine whether the malignant clones pre-existed or were generated as a consequence of treatment. The results will show how chemotherapy affects blood composition and provide novel insights into the origin of cancer.

Objective

Therapy-related malignancies are a major cause of long-term mortality among childhood cancer survivors. However, it is unclear how exposure to chemo- and/or radiotherapy early in life induces carcinogenesis. My aim is to determine the mechanisms and rate-limiting steps underlying the genesis of second malignancies in childhood cancer survivors. For this, we will focus on studying the etiology of therapy-related myeloid malignancies (t-MNs). I have pioneered methods to characterize mutation accumulation in single stem cells and study clonal lineages in the human hematopoietic system. My lab is embedded in Europes largest childhood cancer center, providing the opportunity to apply our techniques to unique patient material. In Objective 1, we will dissect the life history of t-MN and study its cellular origin. Our key question is: Was the original t-MN clone already present before chemotherapy exposure, or generated as a consequence thereof? We will address this by tracking back clonal lineages in the hematopoietic tissue of patients using the mutations present in their second cancers. In Objective 2, we will study the mutational consequences of chemotherapy in normal hematopoietic cells of children before and after they received treatment. Our key question is: Is enhanced mutagenesis rate limiting for t-MN development? To address this, we will perform in-depth mutational analyses and in vitro validations. In Objective 3, we will determine phenotypic effects of chemotherapy on population dynamics of blood. Our key question is: how does chemotherapy affect selection dynamics and clonal composition of blood? To address this, we will integrate clonal histories and lineage contributions using somatically acquired mutations. Our unique methodology and anticipated novel insights will not contribute to improved survival of children with cancer, but also to increased fundamental knowledge on the origin of cancer.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2019-COG

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Host institution

PRINSES MAXIMA CENTRUM VOOR KINDERONCOLOGIE BV
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 000 000,00
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 000 000,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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