Jenny Wang
University of New South Wales, Australia
Title: Epigenetic and metabolic regulation of leukemia stem cells
Biography
Biography: Jenny Wang
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains a signifi cant challenge for oncologists, with a 5-year survival rate of only 27% and a standard treatment that has not changed meaningfully in the past 3 decades. Current treatments are largely ineff ective as they do not kill quiescent leukemia stem cells (LSCs) and resistant LSCs will survive to regenerate additional leukemic cells through their self-renewal capacity. Targeting self-renewal pathways that drive LSC development is essential for curative therapy. Oncogenic events including genetic, epigenetic and metabolic abnormalities enable LSCs to hijack normal stem cell of self-renewal mechanisms that allow LSCs to evade therapy and regenerate new leukemia, leading to relapse. Targeted disruption of abnormal stem cell self-renewal represents a novel therapeutic strategy that could signifi cantly reduce the capacity of a tumor to regenerate itself aft er treatment and has become a new focus for drug development in poor prognosis AML.