Leading haematologist Dr George Grigoriadis was recently awarded a
prestigious Victorian Cancer Agency Clinical Research Fellowship for his ongoing
research into the role of inflammation in the different
stages of myelodysplastic syndromes.
The competitive grant of $800,000 over four
years will also enable Dr Grigoriadis to identify patients who may benefit from
treatment with anti-inflammatory agents.
“Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of blood cell diseases
characterised by anaemia, recurrent infections and bleeding culminating in the
development of acute leukaemia,” said Dr Grigoriadis.
“An unresolved and important question in MDS is whether survival is
improved with drugs that reduce inflammation observed in this disease.”
MDS arise from a defective haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) as a
result of heterogeneous somatic mutations that are cell intrinsic. This in turn
leads to ineffective haematopoiesis, marrow failure, immune dysregulation,
and/or transformation to overt leukaemia.
“Although identification of molecular targets and subsequent
development of therapeutics is essential to eliminate MDS-causing clones and
improve outcome, understanding of the evolution of the disease and the impact
the microenvironment including the innate and adaptive immune systems has in
the transformation from low to high risk is critical to improved outcome,” said
Dr Grigoriadis.
MDS occur principally in older adults with a median age of 70 years
with an annual incidence of >20/100,000.
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