Minimal residual diseases detection in childhood cancers

Project leader: Prof Ellen van der Schoot MD PhD

The prognosis of cancers in childhood is often better than in adults, but still many children do not survive. To recognize children that might benefit from other therapeutic strategies, we develop and evaluate in collaboration with Lieve Tytgat and Huib Caron (AMC/EKZ, Amsterdam), SKION (V de Haas), Erasmus MC (JJM van Dongen and VHJ van der Velden) assays for the detection of minimal residual disease in childhood cancers.

Key publication

• Waanders E, van der Velden VH, van der Schoot CE, van Leeuwen FN, van Reijmersdal SV, de Haas V, Veerman AJ, van Kessel AG, Hoogerbrugge PM, Kuiper RP, van Dongen JJ. Integrated use of minimal residual disease classification and IKZF1 alteration status accurately predicts 79% of relapses in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia 2011; 25(2):254-8.