New project to study chemotherapy resistance in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Dr. Anna Bigas, head of the Stem Cells and Cancer Research Group at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute Barcelona, is co-leading a new international project funded by the Deutsche José Carreras Leukämie Stiftung to advance the understanding of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).

T-ALL is an aggressive blood cancer that affects both children and adults. Although current treatments achieve remission in many patients, chemotherapy resistance remains the leading cause of relapse and is associated with poor prognosis.

The project, carried out in collaboration with Prof. Christoph Plass from the German Cancer Research Center, will investigate how specific genetic and epigenetic alterations promote the survival of leukemia cells that resist treatment. In particular, the team will focus on the BAF complex, which plays a key role in gene regulation and has been linked to disease relapse.

To address these questions, the researchers will use state-of-the-art single-cell analysis technologies to study individual cells before and after chemotherapy exposure. This approach will help uncover how resistant cells evolve and identify the mechanisms that allow them to survive treatment.

The findings could pave the way for new therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing relapse and improving outcomes for patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

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