Understanding the diversity of leukaemia to combat it

Elías Campo

Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain

Chronic lymphatic leukemia is the most common type of leukemia among the adult population of western countries. In this pathology, the bone marrow produces too many lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, and these do not fight infections as well as normal lymphocytes.

Recently scientists have described the genetic map of this oncological disease, which shows complex alterations. However, there is insufficient information to explain the amount of molecular subtypes and the heterogeneity of cases, as well as the changes that occur during the evolution of the disease.

The current project focuses on the understanding of the complete catalog of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms -which regulate genetic expression- subjacent to the plasticity of tumors, taking into account the diversity of cases. The aim is to understand how the cancer genome changes, why it is resistant to therapy and to be able to design new, more effective treatments.

• Carlos López-Otín (Co-Leader), Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI), Spain

• David Torrents, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Spain

Genomic and epigenomic drivers of disease evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Targets for clinical intervention

€999,270