A new protein targeted treatment for B-cell lymphoma

Lymphomas are a type of blood cancer which affect children and are treated with multiple chemotherapy drugs in combination. Despite high chances of survival for many children, 10-15% will not respond to current treatments and cannot be cured. For children whose treatment was successful, the toxic drugs used will have had both immediate and long-term side effects, which can be life changing. We need treatments that are more targeted to reduce side effects without reducing survival rates.  

Childhood cancers with better survival rates, like lymphomas, often lose out on exciting discovery science research and do not attract proportionate funding. Yet children and their families still endure the trauma and long-term impacts of a cancer diagnosis, and with less hope for any improvements in the future. 

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have found that high levels of a protein called CaMK1D, detected in some lymphomas, is associated with poorer survival. This finding led the team, headed by Professor Pamela Kearns, to develop innovative drugs that prevent CaMK1D from working. They found that inhibiting CaMK1D can reduce the amount of chemotherapy required to kill lymphoma cells.  

The research team will assess CaMK1D-blocking drugs as new treatments for children with lymphoma, both on their own and combined with chemotherapy and other targeted drugs. These drugs could therefore improve survival rates whilst reducing side effects. The researchers will also try to identify the subgroups of children with lymphoma who are most likely to benefit from CaMK1D targeting drugs. Professor Pamela Kearns hopes that this discovery could create a change in how chemotherapy is used to treat lymphoma, and potentially other cancers.