Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD

The Role of ASXL1 mutations in leukemia patients

The development of genomic technologies has uncovered a number of genetic abnormalities in patients with cancer, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In large-scale genomic studies we have found that the gene ASXL1 (Addition of Sex Combs-Like 1) is commonly mutated in AML patients. Moreover, we have identified that patients with ASXL1 mutations have a significantly worse survival. We have therefore performed studies to understand the function of ASXL1. In addition to furthering our knowledge of AML development we hope to identify strategies to aid in the therapy of AML patients with this genetic abnormality.