Journal article

Blood transcriptomics identifies immune signatures indicative of infectious complications in childhood cancer patients with febrile neutropenia

GM Haeusler, AL Garnham, CSN Li-Wai-Suen, JE Clark, FE Babl, Z Allaway, MA Slavin, F Mechinaud, GK Smyth, B Phillips, KA Thursky, M Pellegrini, M Doerflinger

Clinical and Translational Immunology | Published : 2022

Open access

Abstract

Objectives: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a major cause of treatment disruption and unplanned hospitalization in childhood cancer patients. This study investigated the transcriptome of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in children with cancer and FN to identify potential predictors of serious infection. Methods: Whole-genome transcriptional profiling was conducted on PBMCs collected during episodes of FN in children with cancer at presentation to the hospital (Day 1; n = 73) and within 8–24 h (Day 2; n = 28) after admission. Differentially expressed genes as well as gene pathways that correlated with clinical outcomes were defined for different infectious outcomes. Results: Global dif..

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Grants

Awarded by Jack Brockhoff Foundation


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Stefanie Eggers and Maelle Le Moing from the MCRI Translational Genomics Unit for performing RNA sequencing runs. This study was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant (APP1104527) (to KAT), a National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence Grant (APP1116876) and NHMRC Investigator Grant (APP1173791) (to MAS), an NHMRC Fellowship (APP1154970) (to GKS) and funding by the Jack Brockhoff Foundation and the Scobie and Clare McKinnon Trust (to MD). We gratefully acknowledge the support and endorsement of the Australian and New Zealand Children's Haematology/Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) and the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT).