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Brian Marples

Maintaining Renal Function After Total Body Irradiation

Institution:
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami
Primary Researcher(s):
Brian Marples, PhD
Status:
Awarded 2019
People battling leukemia and lymphoma often undergo a process called Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT). These cancers result in a lack of Hematopoietic stem cells- stem cells that create other blood cells. The HSCT process is used to transfer these vital Hematopoietic cells from donors, to those who are in need of the stem cells. Total Body Irradiation (TBI) is used to start the process. However, TBI often comes with negative side effects, such as severe renal damage. The goal of this study is to evaluate the correlation between Total Body Irradiation and kidney damage. By understanding the causation of damage done to the kidneys by TBI, new drugs can be proposed that offer cancer survivors better living conditions, post-treatment. Live Like Bella has helped fund this study to evaluate kidney damage after radiation, and also further examination of the HSCT process.
[Live Like Bella] Initiative has allowed these studies to be extended to total body irradiation plus Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. This directly addresses a clinical question relevant to pediatric cancers.