powering cures, realizing futures

Elliot Stieglitz, MD

Elliot Stieglitz

Elliot Stieglitz, MD
Translational Research Grant
– Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia

University of California, San Francisco

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Dr. Elliot Stieglitz of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital is innovative in discovering new targeted therapies for patients with Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia also called JMML, a type of blood cancer that affects infants and young children. The cancer cells cause children with JMML to experience belly pain, have difficulty breathing, and be more likely to have bleeding problems. If untreated, JMML is nearly always fatal. The only way to cure JMML is to kill off every blood cell using harsh medications, and then use someone else’s healthy blood cells as a replacement, known as a stem cell transplant. This treatment causes many side effects like vomiting, hair loss, and can lead to serious infections. Equally upsetting is that this intensive treatment only works half the time with few children surviving if the transplant does not work.

Over the past several years, we have developed lab tests that predict which patients are likely to respond or not respond to this type of intensive treatment. The first aim of this grant is to turn our research test into a clinical test that can be ordered by any doctor around the country to help them decide how to treat their patients with JMML. Our second aim to test two different, new and safer medications in mice to determine what the best way is to combine them. Lastly, the overall goal of this grant is to start a trial that uses the clinical test that we described in our first aim to help pinpoint the patients that will benefit from the two medications in our second aim. We expect that by adding these medications we will improve the lives of children with JMML.  Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation is looking forward to the new hope offered by the work of Dr. Steiglitz.

Give to Dr. Elliot Stieglitz’s Research

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