Funded by the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund
Children with Down syndrome have a higher chance of getting blood cancer called leukemia. Many babies are born with a condition called transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM). TAM starts before birth and causes too many immature blood cells to grow. In most babies, TAM goes away on its own. But in some, it can be very serious or later turn into leukemia. Right now, doctors do not know why this happens or how to tell which babies are at risk.In this study, we will use new tools to look at single blood cells to learn more about how TAM starts, how it changes into leukemia, and why treatments sometimes stop working. We will study blood and bone marrow samples from children at different stages of the disease, as well as from pregnancies with Down syndrome, to find out when and where the first changes begin.Our goal is to find better ways to predict which babies with Down syndrome will get leukemia and to develop safer, more effective treatments. This work could improve survival and quality of life for children with Down syndrome and their families.
