Students’ graduation project highlights new hope for treating childhood cancer in a resource-limited setting.

In a scientific achievement that adds to the university’s research record, students from the College of Pharmacy: Maryam Al-Shehabi, Yasmin Al-Attiya, and Mohammed Tamim presented their graduation project entitled: “Precision Therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Children: A Shift Towards Low-Toxicity, Biology-Based Treatment Regimens,” under the supervision of Dr. Sally Al-Maalim and Dr. Khalid Ghanem.

The project was carried out in partnership with the Basma Association for the Support of Children with Cancer and the Basma Specialized Unit at Al-Biruni University Hospital. It aimed to characterize a cohort of Syrian children with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML) at the Basma Specialized Unit at Al-Biruni University Hospital and to evaluate their outcomes and the feasibility and effectiveness of differentiation therapy in a resource-limited setting.

Important findings
The results showed that children with APML who were treated according to the COG AAML0361 protocol (a treatment regimen based on differentiation therapy and low-dose chemotherapy) achieved overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) rates similar to global rates and superior to regional rates.
The most significant challenges faced by patients included: a lack of diagnosis due to low awareness of clinical manifestations in some areas, and limited access to arsenic-containing treatments.

Future recommendations
*The team called for raising medical awareness among health workers in Syrian provinces and developing laboratory infrastructure to improve diagnosis and follow-up of cases.
* Support the establishment of internal laboratories within medical centers to facilitate diagnosis and follow-up.

The students discussed their graduation project in the presence of a select group of academics and specialists, including the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Prof. Habib Abboud, and Ms. Rima Salem, Executive Director of the Basma Association for the Support of Children with Cancer
and Dr. Khaled Ghanem, Medical Director of the Basma Unit, who praised the students’ efforts and their role in improving healthcare.