And the research continues. Our commitment of more than $1.2 million in research grants is going to scientists at:
- The AFLAC Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta
- Emory University
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Currently, we’re supporting eleven specific projects, most of which focus on finding effective treatments for the 20% of kids who do not survive childhood cancer.
| Researcher(s): | Area of Study: | Research Summary: | ||
| Dr. Chiang Dr. Horan |
Leukemia and Bone marrow transplant | A phase 1 trial which seeks to use the FDA approved drug, AMD3100, to improve outcome in bone marrow transplant patients with chemotherapy resistant leukemia. Specifically, the drug is used before transplant to bind the leukemia cells hidden in the bone marrow, which allows removal before the procedure. The drug has been used already for this in the blood and in adult cancers. | ||
| Dr. MacDonald Dr. Cash |
Glioma | A phase 1 trial that uses a vaccine to treat patients with recurrent or refractory brain tumors. It will target molecules on the glioma surface called TAA. Both the patients’ immune response to the vaccine and the response of the tumor will be studied. Vaccines have been used in a similar way in melanoma. | ||
| Dr. Kleinerman | Osteosarcoma | A study to treat patients with osteosarcoma who have disease spread to the lungs. The researchers will use immunologic cells, IL-2 and natural killer or NK cells, in a novel way, by aerosolizing them to directly place them in the lungs. These cells attack and destroy tumor cells. The research group has used such novel therapy in research previously and has a strong research resume. | ||
| Dr. Bunting | Leukemia, AML | A study examining a well-known cell growth pathway in leukemia (STAT5). The study focuses on a particular cell-type associated with a poor prognosis, and will look at the role of that pathway in affecting the response to certain treatments. It will also evaluate the affect of individual drugs, alone and in combination, on the pathway and the cells overall , in the laboratory. | ||
| Dr. Goldsmith | Neuroblastoma | The study addresses an important area of research in the mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in neuroblastoma, which may result in improved treatment strategies. It explores several areas, including the pathway that prevents normal regulated cell death (apoptosis) and allows tumor to continue its growth, the testing of a treatment that inhibits this pathway and it seeks to characterize an important genetic marker for the pathway. | ||
| Dr. Gu | Neuroblastoma | The study involves a pathway in neuroblastoma which affects and promotes tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy, the MycN pathway. It will look a a number of compounds to see which are able to block or slow pathway at a genetic level. The research will confirm effectiveness on neuroblastoma cells in the laboratory. | ||
| Dr. Spencer | Neuroblastoma and Glioma | This study looks at use of genetically modified immune cells to increase tumor killing during chemotherapy. Specifically, the cells will be modified to be resistant to chemotherapy so they will remain alive and increase anti-tumor affect. They will be studied in the laboratory both in cell culture and in a mouse model. This work builds on prior research from last year, that validated the potential use of genetically modified immune cells. | ||
| Dr. Hodge Dr. Stice Dr. Aruna |
Medulloblastoma | The study seeks to evaluate and identify cellular targets in medulloblastoma. It proposes to create medulloblastoma-type cells in the laboratory and to find antibodies to markers on those cells. The antibodies could potentially be used to deliver treatment or to characterize the type of medulloblastoma. | ||
| Dr. Mertens | Survivorship | This study investigates survivorship issues. It builds on prior work with SurvivorLink, a database and tool for patients to aid in co-ordination in their long-term health care. It has several aims: to promote use of SurvivorLink; to measure use and effectiveness of this tool; to identify barriers to its use. | ||
| Dr. Castellino | Medulloblastoma | This study will investigate the role of particular genes in medulloblastoma growth and spread (metastasis). The research will look primarily at the WIP1 gene, to examine its impact on tumor growth/survival, its interaction with other pathways and the impact of disruption of its pathway on tumor survival. It will further look to identify other molecules that are seen in conjunction the gene activity. | ||
| Dr. Zhou | Leukemia | This study seeks to identify and evaluate compounds that block a cellular signaling pathway in ALL. Blockage of the pathway causes an increase in natural cell death as well as increased sensitivity to treatment. It uses a relative novel, rapid screening process for such drugs or compounds, which were used in research by the same group last year. The research will attempt to identify additional compounds of use in blocking the pathway under study. It also will test compounds found during previous research, in both laboratory cell lines and in a mouse model. | ||
| “CURE is extremely pleased to be partnering with these scientists to continue our search for cures and better treatments for children with cancer and to improve the quality of life of childhood cancer survivors. CURE has a 36-year-long history of supporting promising research, and we are proud to continue that effort.”- Kristin Connor, Executive Director |
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