Fanconi anemia patients have a very high predisposition to head, neck, and anogenital squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). To understand how these cancers develop, Dr. Smogorzewska and team are cataloging genetic changes that are present in the cancers. They are using the latest DNA sequencing…
There is a great deal of excitement about the potential of CRISPR genome editing to treat disorders such as Fanconi anemia. But the mutations that cause FA also reduce the effectiveness of genome editing. Dr. Corn and colleagues will search for potential ways to re-activate genome editing in FA…
Grant description: Beyond surgical resection, there is no effective therapy nowadays to treat FA patients that develop solid tumors, so a drug able to kill tumor cells but nontoxic for FA patients is of critical relevance. Gefitinib and afatinib candidates are approved drugs and are already being…
Oral cancer in Fanconi patients is a severe disease requiring innovative treatment and prevention measures. The potential use of FDA-approved diabetes drugs is a practical strategy for Fanconi patients for oral cancer prevention or treatment studies, once these preliminary studies are conducted.…
Grant description: Persons with FA, as well as their family members, voice concern about being underweight and unable to build muscle mass. These concerns have an obvious physical impact, not only on the person's appearance to others and themselves and the negative impact on immune function and host…
FA confers a high risk of developing leukemia at a young age, and patients with FA who develop leukemia are difficult to treat with have poor long-term outcomes. Leukemia develops as a consequence of the acquisition of genetic mutations within blood stem cells in the bone marrow that cooperate to…
Head and neck cancer is a major issue for the FA population. There is no suitable preclinical model to study potential strategies for preventing or delaying squamous cell carcinoma in FA. Using a cancer-prone mouse model developed by a lab in the United Kingdom, researchers will test small molecules…
Grant description: Treatment of blood complications in FA kids using bone marrow transplantation has seen great improvement over the past decade. However, after a successful bone marrow transplantation, those kids affected with FA must now face nonblood malignancies in subsequence adolescent life…
Grant description Bone marrow transplantation has been used for 60+ years to treat >1,000,000 patients suffering from many types of blood or immune diseases, and this therapy is the best current treatment for FA patients experiencing blood problems. This procedure relies on replacing sick…
Fanconi Anemia (FA) is characterized by fragile bone marrow and the inability to repair DNA damage which accumulates in repopulating stem cells, leading to marrow failure. Current treatments often involve bone marrow transplantation however the majority of patients will not have an appropriately…
Fanconi anemia patients are dramatically predisposed to early-onset and aggressive head, neck, and anogenital squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Treating Fanconi SCCs is challenging due to high-frequency recurrence and patient chemosensitivity, yielding an average survival rate of
Grant description: Low blood counts due to bone marrow failure are a common complication of Fanconi anemia (FA) which affect health and quality of life. Metformin improves blood counts in mice with FA and may protect against DNA damage. Laboratory studies suggest that Metformin may be protective…