Cardiovascular disease, the leading cause
of death among men and women in the
United States, has increasingly become
recognized as a cause of early mortality in
adult survivors of childhood and young
adult cancers.
CAPS scholar and pediatric oncologist
Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., hopes to study
and increase understanding of the effects of
cancer therapy on the vascular system, thus
leading to improved preventive measures
and early intervention for these patients.
“Fortunately, survival rates of childhood
cancers are improving,” says Mulrooney, “but complications from
treatment can surface later in life, and we need to better understand the
long-term effects of our therapies.”
Following a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics,
Mulrooney completed a fellowship in pediatric ematology/oncology and
stem cell transplantation. As part of his fellowship, he also earned a master’s
degree in clinical research in 2005. Now an assistant professor of
pediatric oncology, Mulrooney plans to study inflammatory biomarkers as
predictors of early atherosclerotic disease in adult survivors of childhood
and young adult cancer. At the same time, he will examine the role of
activated circulating endothelial cells in the reparative process of vascular
injury following radiation and/or chemotherapy. This type of multidisciplinary
research is innovative in that “few have looked at the late effects
of cancer therapies on the vasculature and its endothelial lining to assess
long-term cardiovascular health in these patients,” says Mulrooney.
As a CAPS scholar, Mulrooney is allocated 75 percent protected time
for research. He works closely with his three research mentors: Joseph
Neglia, M.D., M.P.H., professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Blood and Marrow Transplantation,
Medical School; Robert Hebbel, M.D., Regents Professor, Department of
Medicine, Medical School; and James Neaton, Ph.D., professor, Division
of Biostatistics, School of Public Health. Mulrooney sees patients at the
University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview.
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