Conventional chemotherapy has reached its limits in treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common leukemia in adults. Several new therapy options with the potential to improve treatment outcomes have emerged. However, they suffer from heterogeneity in responses and there is a lack of methods for identifying patients who benefit from such therapies.
The overall goal of our work is to develop biomarkers that predict patient’s sensitivity to one of the most promising novel leukemia drugs, venetoclax, and to understand how acquired resistance to targeted therapy emerges. Our research group has discovered methods, including biomarker discovery and ex-vivo drug sensitivity testing platform, which have a great potential for predicting the response tovenetoclax therapy. To reach the maximal clinical benefit, these methods must be understood in detail and also be validated in prospective clinical trials. Our group collaborates closely with the Finnish and the Nordic AML groups. Our lab serves as a core laboratory for translational studies related to ongoing and future clinical trials performed in Nordics.