Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program Round 12 - 2024
Project Investigators:
Kara Davis, Pediatrics - Hematology & Oncology
Sindy Tang, Mechanical Engineering
Abstract:
B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of cancer in children. While treatments have improved, many children still die from relapse after treatment. Previously, our team has found ALL cells with specific activation signals accurately predict cancer relapse at the time of diagnosis. This B cell activation assay uses patient bone marrow or blood directly without requiring growing cells in the laboratory. It raises the possibility of using this assay in the clinical management of ALL. However, this assay is complex, takes 2 days for sample processing, and requires specialized equipment and technical expertise. In its current form, this assay is too challenging to be used in the clinical setting.
In this proposal, we aim to develop and validate a millifluidic device to drastically streamline the B cell activation assay to enable clinical adoption for the prediction of patient relapse in children diagnosed with ALL. Our approach includes using bone marrow and blood samples from patients treated at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. Outcomes and significance: This study will determine the feasibility of performing the B cell activation test in a millifluidic device at the point of care. Upon clinical validation, our method has potential to significantly improve the clinical care of ALL especially in the prevention of relapse.
