Improving treatments for acute myeloid leukaemia

Dr Danielle's grant is funded by Cure Cancer

She is based at The University of Newcastle and the Hunter Medical Research Institute.

Dr Danielle Bond is a postdoctoral scientist in the Cancer Epigenetics group led by Dr Heather Lee at The University of Newcastle. When she was 14 years old, her nan passed away from colon cancer, which pushed her to pursue a career in cancer research. 

“Ultimately, my passion for helping others and my curiosity in cancer has led me to this research – trying to find new ways to improve the treatment of blood cancers,” she says. 

In 2015, Dr Danielle completed her PhD in medical biochemistry at the University of Newcastle. Since then, her career has encompassed the study of several cancer types, including breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers. Currently, her research uses cutting-edge technologies to investigate the epigenetic changes that cancer patients undergo post-treatment.

Acute myeloid leukaemia in older adults

Every year, about 1,100 people in Australia are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), which tends to affect older adults who are over 65 years old. AML is one of the most aggressive blood cancers with a low 5-year survival rate of under 30%. 

Older AML patients have limited treatment options and poor patient outcomes as they are particularly prone to relapse within 1-2 years of diagnosis. 

With the increasingly ageing population in mind, Dr Danielle’s research aims to improve the long-term survival of older patients by understanding the ways in which leukaemia cancer cells evade or adapt to cancer therapies and testing a more effective combination of drugs that may counteract this process.

Improving long-term survival and the efficacy of AML treatment

Because intensive chemotherapy is not a viable option for older AML patients, they are typically treated with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) that remove DNA methylation, which is one of the factors responsible for the formation of tumours and inactivation of genes that suppress tumours. HMAs can reactivate some of the tumour suppressor genes and increase the likelihood that the presence of a tumour will induce an immune response that inhibits tumour growth.

However, AML cells can become resistant or adapt to HMA therapy. About 50% of patients do not respond to the therapy and most patients who initially respond will acquire resistance and relapse, with the remaining cancer becoming more aggressive. 

Dr Danielle has found that these remaining AML cells retain DNA methylation during HMA therapy and produce a large amount of cholesterol, which may assist in their growth. For this reason, Dr Danielle will test the novel combination of HMAs with statins, drugs that lower cholesterol levels. Ultimately, this will enable her to determine the most effective combined treatment strategy and whether it will prevent cancer treatment adaptation and improve the survival outcomes of older AML patients. 

Because Dr Danielle’s research involves repurposing drugs that are already approved for other conditions, her findings could have a real impact on cancer outcomes in a relatively short period of time as the progression towards clinical trials will be fast tracked.

Why funding is vital to cancer researchers

Dr Danielle tells us that some of the most challenging hurdles as an emerging researcher involve job stability and winning their first big grant as a chief investigator, which makes funding even more crucial. 

“Cure Cancer grants play a vital role in a researcher’s career. This funding will allow me to continue researching new and improved ways to treat blood cancers,” she says. 

“Furthermore, this grant will be used as an important stepping stone towards securing larger research grants and will help propel my career towards establishing my own research ideas and research team. 

“In 5 years, I hope to be leading my own research team, inspiring young researchers towards finding and testing better treatments for cancer patients – treatments that will significantly improve the survival of cancer patients.”

In her spare time, Dr Danielle enjoys hiking, learning about other cultures and exploring new places. She has a love for nature and quiet nights in, watching her favourite TV shows and movies with her wife and pets.

“Being awarded a Cure Cancer grant means that not only do I see value in my research, but so do my peers and community. This funding will allow me to continue researching new and improved ways to treat blood cancers, using treatments that are already approved for other diseases.”

Together, we can cure cancer.

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