
Soo Park, MD
University of California, San Diego
2019
$
100000
Tower Career Development Grant
Use of Metformin for Prevention of Clonal Progression to Therapy-Related MDS/AML
Clonal hematopoiesis describes a common pre-cancerous condition where blood stem cells gain mutations in cancer-associated genes that allow them to grow and expand abnormally. This condition occurs more frequently with increasing age and after chemotherapy for solid tumors where it is a strong risk factor for developing secondary blood cancers. Inflammation after chemotherapy exposure is known to favor proliferation of mutant blood stem cells. We are investigating the anti-inflammatory effects of metformin on mutant blood stem cell behavior and how the presence of clonal hematopoiesis impacts clinical outcomes in women who received curative-intent chemotherapy after surgery for advanced breast cancer.
Support the Journey
When you donate to Tower, you’re not supporting a single study. You’re part of an ecosystem that believes the next breakthrough is out there, waiting for someone to believe in it first. Every gift puts resources directly behind the discoveries that would otherwise never see the light of day.