Earlier this year, clinical haematologist Associate Professor Steven Lane received one of two annual AU$55,000 Metcalf Prizes from the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia in recognition of his leadership in stem cell research. As head of the Translational Leukaemia Research Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, A/Prof Lane believes that the key to improving survival rates in leukemia patients could lie in the genetic fingerprints of the blood cancer stem cells that proliferate the disease.

“My particular interest lies in myeloid blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). As part of our research in the laboratory, we concentrate on a few main aspects of those diseases. The first is to understand how these diseases arise from healthy cells, i.e., how the genetic changes that characterise leukemia and related disorders are able to give rise to these different types of blood cancers. The second is to understand how these diseases progress from the early stages to the more advanced stages, such as leukaemia or myelofibrosis.

“Finally, we look to understand the ways in which these types of blood cancers either respond to or become resistant to treatment. This includes treatments that are already in use, such as chemotherapy or small molecule inhibitors, and emerging treatments such as telomerase inhibitors,” said A/Prof Lane.

A/Prof Lane explains that he will use this knowledge to develop more effective and tailored therapies, both to prevent and treat potentially fatal relapses. He says that it is only possible to make big advances in clinical medicine by having a fundamental understanding from the laboratory.

“We hope not only to develop new treatments that are better or more effective than those that already exist, but also to ensure that the treatments we do have are being used in the optimal way and for the optimal group of patients. That means linking the genetic ‘fingerprint’ of these different types of cancers to the most effective treatment.

“The big advances in haematology and cancer medicine have all come from a fundamental understanding of these processes in the laboratory. There has been a lot of positive advances in the treatment of patients with blood cancers in the last 10-20 years. Never before has there been such a time where we’re successfully treating and even curing people with blood cancers. When you look at individual rare types of cancers and the things we understand – we are doing a really fantastic job of making a major difference. This is mainly due to understanding the biology of why these cancers arise and having targeted treatments to turn off those harmful processes,” said A/Prof Lane.