The Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) at the University of Navarra and the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Toulouse have signed a research agreement to combat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The CITTIL project (Cooperación para la Investigación Transpirenaica en la Terapia Innovadora de la Leucemia) (Cooperation for Transpyrenean Research in Innovative Treatment for Leukemia) has received funding of 1.2 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the commonest form of cancer in children and one of the most frequent blood cancers in adults. Despite the progress made with new types of chemotherapy, over 20% of children and 60% of adults die as a result of recurrence of the disease.

"Progress in the treatment of this disease depends on our understanding its mechanisms, and the reasons why the established treatments may fail to work. For this reason, the research conducted for the CITTIL project will center on studying the genetic and epigenetic factors in the development of new drugs based on the mechanisms that are involved in the disease", explain scientists Xabier Agirre and Felipe Prósper from the Myeloproliferatives Syndromes Laboratory in CIMA.

According to Dr. José A. Martínez Climent, a researcher in CIMA's Molecular Oncology Laboratory, "the results we have obtained up to now indicate that the genetic and epigenetic changes involved in acute lymphoblastic leukemia are the key to the prognosis of the disease, and can help us to predict the response to relatively selective forms of treatment".

Clinical application

Both CIMA and INSERM have considerable research experience in the area of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. "Both groups also combine their research with clinical practice (in the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and the Hospital de Purpan in Toulouse). This means that once the mechanisms that lead to the disease are understood and new treatment has been designed, clinical trials will be started, which adds translational interest to the project", say CIMA researchers.