Cutting Off Leukemia’s Fuel Supply
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is an aggressive blood cancer that affects children and adults in Canada each year. Although survival rates have improved thanks to intensive treatment protocols, 25% of children still experience a relapse. In addition, these treatments can cause significant side effects that may affect the long-term health and quality of life of young patients.
Targeting the Energy of Cancer Cells
Like all cells in the body, leukemia cells need energy to function. This energy acts as a kind of fuel, allowing them to survive, multiply, and sometimes even resist treatments. However, the way they produce and use this energy differs from that of normal cells.
At the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, researcher Marissa Rashkovan and her team study metabolic pathways, the internal mechanisms that allow cells to convert nutrients into energy. Their project, funded by the Cancer Research Society (CRS), focuses on a key process involved in energy production: the tricarboxylic acid cycle, which is essential for cellular function.
By studying this cycle in patient-derived models and exploring ways to disrupt it at the molecular level, the team aims to identify vulnerabilities specific to cancer cells. This work will help deepen our understanding of the metabolic mechanisms that support the development and persistence of this leukemia, and could contribute to the development of more targeted, better-adapted, and less toxic treatments for children.
Every discovery in the lab gives us new insight to better understand cancer and, one day, defeat it. Before it impacts patients, it all begins here, in our experiments, our analyses, and our daily progress. The Cancer Research Society has enabled me to launch projects that otherwise would never have developed. Because of you, today’s discoveries become tomorrow’s solutions for patients.
Your impact
CRS primarily funds fundamental research projects like this one. This type of research is essential for advancing our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying cancer. By supporting this work, CRS helps lay the foundation for discoveries that will ultimately lead to better treatments for children affected by cancer.
Project Title: Targeting the TCA cycle in pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Quebec
2024-2026,
$130,000