Mentor Name: Kelly Getz

Among children, leukemia is the most prevalent type of cancer; acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the second most common subtype and the most life threatening form of leukemia. The prognosis of pediatric AML patients has improved significantly over recent decades, but about a third of patients still experience relapse following a first remission; these patients have a relatively poor prognosis. There is great variability in treatment of relapsed patients, which is poorly understood, and there is a lack of information on the true prevalence, toxicity, and relative effectiveness of treatments being used. A known adverse consequence of AML therapy is cardiotoxicity, which in large part is due to exposure to cardio-toxic chemotherapeutic agents, such as anthracyclines. Cardiotoxicity during AML treatment has been shown to predict cardiac dysfunction later in survivorship. However, data on cardiotoxicity is limited as there is incomplete data on frontline clinical trials following relapse. During my summer research experience, we will provide research support for two of Dr. Getz’s ongoing studies. The first project aims to evaluate the changes in left ventricular (LV) systolic function during and following treatment of AML in comparison with different frontline treatment regimens, as LV systolic dysfunction (LVSD) is a common symptom of cardiotoxicity associated with anthracycline based chemotherapy regimens. The second project aims to compare the longitudinal changes in LV function, and incidences of LVSD, along with overall survival rates for common relapse salvage therapies, as documented declines in LV function during frontline treatment may impact the effectiveness of relapse therapies.