Childhood Cancer - Cancer Currents Blog
News about childhood cancer research, with context from leading experts. Topics include new treatments, issues facing childhood cancer survivors, and findings on the biology of cancer in children.
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Progress continues to be made with the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program, which is creating opportunities for investigators from different research communities to share resources and collaborate on research into childhood cancers and certain birth defects.
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FDA has approved tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah™), a type of immunotherapy called CAR T-cell therapy, for some children and young adults with advanced acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
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In a small clinical trial, the drug crizotinib shrank tumors in children with cancers that have alterations in the ALK gene.
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Two studies have identified proteins that drive growth of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) tumor cells. Blocking these targets with investigational drugs slowed tumor growth in animal models.
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The FDA has approved the first drug ever for the rare skin cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma, and updated data show an improved tumor response rate and that patients’ tumors continued to respond for at least a year.
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Researchers have created a long-sought-after mouse model for an aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia that occurs commonly in infants and that the researchers believe can accelerate the development of new therapies for the disease.
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Research from TARGET, an NCI-funded program supporting genomic analyses of childhood cancers, has led to the launch of several clinical trials of targeted therapies to treat children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
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The Impact and Future of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study: An Interview with Greg Armstrong, M.D.Dr. Greg Armstrong of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study discusses this long-running study and its future.
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NCI’s Dr. Javed Khan discusses a new NCI clinical program and the promise and challenges of genome-guided therapy for children with cancer.
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An international research team has identified a possible new treatment target for pediatric neuroblastoma and is planning an early-stage clinical trial of a drug that inhibits this target.