Charity Fund

The Charity Fund forwhich the IMFR runners will have to collect funds is the

"Dutch Leukaemia Foundation"

In line with the Running Organisation of the American Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society, "TEAM in TRAINING" , we founded in February 2006 the Running Organisation Dutch Leukaemia Foundation, better known as the "LOL" . The "LOL" coordinates the participation of amateur runners in runs within the Netherlands and abroad. The runners have to find their own sponsors, which money is for 100 % donated to the "Dutch Leukemia Foundation" to be used for the financing of research projects on Leukaemia. The results of these Dutch research projects will be shared internationally.

Organisation:
The Dutch Leukaemia Foundation was founded in 2005 and is the national leukaemia foundation for The Netherlands. The organisation came into being when Martijn Beukhof, then 17 years old, was diagnosed with acute leukaemia. Since then, Martijn has fully recovered and together with others, he now is an active member of the foundation.

Our aims:
The Dutch Leukaemia Foundation provides financial support for leukaemia research. In addition, the foundation supports leukemia patients during and after their treatment and provides information for the general public. Our projects are financed through fundraising aimed at individuals, institutions and companies.

Dutch Leukaemia Foundation invests in:
• pilots and trials of promising leukaemia research programmes
• the infrastructure needed for research
• the latest technologies in the field of research

Medical advisors:
• prof. dr. A. Hagenbeek Academic Medical Center Amsterdam and University Medical Center Utrecht
• prof. dr. B. Löwenberg Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam
• prof. dr. P.C. Huijgens VU University Medical Center Amsterdam

Adopted project:
Suicide gene therapy in leukaemia after allogeneic stem cell transplantation by prof. dr. A. Hagenbeek

In the University Medical Center in Utrecht (UMCU), Department of Hematology, the first clinical gene therapy study will be initiated shortly. The aim of the treatment is to induce remissions in patients with a relapsed hematological malignancy after allogeneic stem cell transplantation by genetically modified donor lymphocytes. A suicide gene is introduced in the donor lymphocytes and after infusion into the patient the graft-versus leukaemia / lymphoma / multiple myeloma reaction is given the opportunity to develop. As soon as the concomitant graft versus-host reaction gets too severe, the prodrug is given, which will induce suicide in the genetically modified lymphocytes, which areresponsible for the alloreactivity. A feasibility study of 10 patients will be done over a period of 2 years duration.

For more information:
www.leukemie.nl

Support the Dutch Leukaemia Foundation !!