Charting the complex molecular landscape in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: the path towards precision medicine

The proposed project aims to thoroughly map the molecular landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most prevalent adult leukemia in Western countries.

Taking advantage of our large, well-annotated cohort of patients with CLL, we will apply an array of high-throughput technologies to investigate clinically relevant patient subgroups and follow their disease evolution.

Through integrative multi-omics analyses, we seek to identify patient-specific pathogenic alterations across the genome, transcriptome, methylome, and proteome, thus gaining detailed insight into the spectrum of molecular events occurring in patients belonging to clinically aggressive and indolent subsets.

The majority of the project parts outlined in the current research plan have been initiated and can be finalized within the planned project period.

By linking our findings to dysregulated signaling pathways and regulatory processes, down to the single cell level, we will gain detailed insight into the molecular events driving clinical aggressiveness and suboptimal treatment responses.

This approach will greatly enhance our understanding of CLL ontogeny and evolution, leading to the identification of novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers, as well as uncovering innovative drug targets tailored to specific patient subgroups.

Overall, the proposed research will pave the way for precision medicine in CLL, which, despite recent progress, remains an incurable disease.