Anupriya Agarwal, PhD

Blood cancers are challenging to treat. The main reason is that cancer is found at late stages, where current treatments often fail. To save more lives, we must change our approach. We need to shift our focus from treating late-stage disease to stopping it early. We can achieve this by understanding how cancer starts. Many studies report that warning signs appear decades before cancer diagnosis. As people age, mutated blood cells can form in the body. This raises the risk of blood cancer by twelve times. Our research found that more chronic inflammation within bones creates a hostile environment. This inflammation acts like fuel for mutated cells. It helps them grow while harming healthy ones. A primary driver of inflammation is obesity, a condition that affects 40% of U.S. adults, and is a cancer risk factor. This long lead time offers a vital window of opportunity for early treatment. We propose a strategy to starve these bad cells. We aim to cut off the fuel supply linked to cancer cells to prevent cancer. We will test how obesity-driven inflammation helps mutated cells grow and weakens the immune system. Using human and mouse models, we will determine whether anti-obesity treatments can prevent cancer. We will test whether these treatments can reduce cancer growth and improve immune function. We will use computational tools to find high-risk patients. This project will help detect and halt leukemia in people most affected by obesity. The goal is to prevent devastating diseases before they begin.