Finding Cancer’s Weakness

Advances in treatment have transformed pediatric leukemia from a largely fatal diagnosis into one of the most curable childhood cancers—survival rates in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia now exceed 90 percent. But when cancer spreads to the brain, a potentially deadly condition known as central nervous system involvement (CNSI), this progress comes with a cost: the same treatments that save a child’s life can also affect how that child learns and remembers.

To prevent CNSI, most newly diagnosed children receive drugs delivered directly to the cerebrospinal fluid to protect their brain and central nervous system. While these treatments effectively prevent the spread of the cancer, they also damage the brain. As a result, survivors of pediatric leukemia experience lasting cognitive challenges that affect how they learn, process information, and navigate daily life.

Addressing this challenge requires a deeper understanding of how leukemia cells survive and the nutrients on which they depend. In the Kanarek Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital, Alan Wong, who will receive his PhD in biological and biomedical sciences this May from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, focuses on developing new approaches to treat pediatric leukemia while reducing harm to the brain.

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