PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
I. Determine the potential of lestaurtinib with or without chemotherapy agents in treating samples from infants with leukemia.
II. Determine whether FLT3 protein expression level and/or activation and sensitivity to lestaurtinib differ between subgroups of infants with leukemia.
III. Determine whether lestaurtinib activates STAT5, AKT, and RAS-MAPK and other pathways.
IV. Determine whether lestaurtinib can synergize with other chemotherapy agents kill infant leukemia cells.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.
Cryopreserved specimens are studied in vitro with lestaurtinib with or without chemotherapy agents. Samples are analyzed for FLT3 protein expression and/or activation; sensitivity to lestaurtinib with or without chemotherapy agents; and activation of STAT, AKT, and RAS-MAPK and other pathways by western blot. The most effective treatment from this study is then validated in vivo in a NOD/SCID xenograft model.
