February 6, 2026 — Physicians and PEF members at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo are at the forefront of research into treatment options for patients with NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and recently achieved an important Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a pill treatment.
NPM1-mutated AML is a blood and bone marrow cancer where a change in the genetic material within the NPM1 gene causes the bone marrow to produce white blood cells too quickly. Because of this, the bone marrow can’t produce enough red blood cells and platelets.
“I am proud to say that Roswell Park patients were the first in the world to be treated with ziftomenib, and we are continuing to advance the development of this drug for AML patients with clinical trials — investigating this agent in combination with chemotherapy in the newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory setting,” says Eunice Wang, MD, Chief of Leukemia at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, a former PEF member from her time in a different role at Roswell Park, in a press release.
Ziftomenib works by blocking menin, a protein that fuels the growth of leukemia cells. Dr. Wang and fellow physicians from the Roswell Park leukemia service led the phase 1/2 study. In the study of 92 adults, all of whom had received multiple lines of prior therapy, 23% achieved a complete response, demonstrating no evidence of disease after treatment. Up to one-third of patients newly diagnosed with AML have this genetic subtype and could potentially be candidates for this treatment.
PEF member Faith Austin, who joined the team at Roswell Park in 2018, is a clinical trials nurse coordinator for the leukemia service. She took an interest in research early on in her career at Roswell, working as a clinical research coordinator for a time before returning to nursing and eventually the newly created clinical trials nurse coordinator job.
“I am honored to be one of the first three nurses hired into this position,” Austin said. “My job is to support and care for research participants by providing patient education, coordinating study-related care, closely monitoring patient safety, and serving as a key liaison and point of contact for physicians, pharmacy doctors, and the clinical trials office.”
Austin said clinical trials require collaboration from disciplines across the facility.
“There is an incredible amount of work that goes into bringing investigational drugs to market,” she said. “It begins with our physicians, who identify and bring promising trials to the institute during the earliest stages of development. From there, it truly becomes a team effort involving the clinical trials office, investigational drug pharmacy, clinical trial nurses and nurse managers, and many others to determine whether Roswell can safely and effectively conduct the study. Once a trial is approved and opened, it represents years of ongoing work and collaboration.”
In the case of ziftomenib, Austin has been personally involved in the process for five years.
“A central focus has always been patient safety and supporting individuals through the complex journey of receiving an investigational therapy,” she said. “When a patient comes in for a study visit, there are many layers of oversight working together to ensure both safety and protocol adherence. That includes schedulers at the front desk, clinical trial nurses, advanced practice providers, clinical research coordinators, and investigational drug pharmacists. It is a highly coordinated, multidisciplinary effort that underscores how much care and diligence go into every step of clinical research.”
The work is rewarding for those involved in changing lives.
“It is incredibly fulfilling to be involved in research for these patients,” Austin said. “The approval of this drug is such an exciting advancement for relapsed or refractory NPM1-mutated AML patients. It is ideal for this population to have an oral therapy available so they can optimize their quality of life. I am honored each day to work alongside the physicians on the leukemia service.
“This disease is often aggressive and unrelenting, and we are striving to find the best therapies to optimize outcomes and improve the lives of our patients,” she said. “Being able to work with patients in this capacity is something I am deeply passionate about. Serving as a patient advocate and being a familiar, trusted presence throughout their care is something I never take for granted and is a large part of why I love what I do.”