Matched Targeted Therapy For High-Risk Leukemias and Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Overview

This research study is seeking to gain new knowledge about Recurrent, Refractory, or High Risk Leukemias in children and young adults. This study is evaluating the use of specialized testing called leukemia profiling. Once the profiling is performed, the results are evaluated by an expert panel of physicians, scientists and pharmacists. This may result in a recommendation for a specific cancer therapy or a clinical trial called matched targeted therapy (MTT). The results of the leukemia profiling and, if applicable, the MTT recommendation will be communicated to the participant's primary oncologist.

Our tissues and organs are made up of cells. Cancer occurs when the molecules that normally control cell growth are damaged. The damage results in unchecked cell growth which causes a tumor, a collection of cancer cells. The damage is referred to as an alteration. There are different types of cancer-causing alterations. Genes are the part of cells that contain the instructions which tell our cells how to make the right proteins to grow and work. Genes are composed of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) letters that spell out these instructions. By participating in this study, the participant's leukemia cells will be tested for cancer causing alterations. This testing is called leukemia profiling. The leukemia profiling will be performed using bone marrow or blood that has already been obtained during a clinical test. Alternately, the profiling may be done on leukemia cells that are planned to be obtained as part of routine clinical care. This study will determine whether it is possible to use profiling results to determine a matched targeted therapy for patients with leukemia. It will describe the range of mutations found in patients with leukemia with this type of profiling, and describe the clinical outcomes of patients who receive a matched targeted therapy.