University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston received $5.7 million in funding from the Break Through Cancer foundation to support in-depth research into eradicating an aggressive type of skin cancer — acute myeloid leukemia — according to a May 16 news release.
"While targeted therapies can produce dramatic responses when used in some patients with AML, standard treatments have changed little in more than 40 years," Jeffrey Molldrem, MD, chair of hematopoietic biology and malignancy at MD Anderson said in the release.
Specifically, MD Anderson will use the grant to fuel developments in two key project areas:
- To develop new tools, strategies and therapies to treat residual acute myeloid leukemia after treatment.
- To further research into a premalignant state of acute myeloid leukemia and initiate innovative and new strategies to treat the cancer, particularly in high-risk patients.