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Assorted News from the Last Week: Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a childhood cancer crisis. Annually, nearly 90% of the more than 100 000 children who develop cancer in sub-Saharan Africa die. The immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide (Revlimid) appeared clinically active and tolerable in pilocytic astrocytomas and optic pathway gliomas in a cohort of pediatric patients who progressed following initial therapy, according to findings from a phase 2 trial (NCT01553149) published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The NCI MyPART team and their collaborators have published two papers in the journal, Pediatric Blood and Cancer. One paper, entitled “NCI intramural program approach to [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Yoram Unguru (past CAC2 Summit speaker, bioethicist, and uncle of a pediatric cancer survivor) on the cancer drug shortage. (gated, but excellent) Children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer (CAYAs) remained at increased risk for mental health disorders after the remission of their cancer. Summary of the ACCELERATE Paediatric Strategy Forum on PI3K, mTOR, AKT and GSK3β Inhibitors in children and adolescents The Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act (CCSA) was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate.  This is a critical piece of comprehensive legislation that will address gaps in survivorship care and develop [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: NCI’s Childhood Cancer Data Initiative has grown since its launch in 2019. Read about the initiative’s activities, successes, and priorities for the future in the most recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.  Just-released Voice of the Patient report "A Ticking Time Bomb" stems from an Externally-led Patient-Focused Drug Development (EL-PFDD) meeting on reducing cardiac late effects in pediatric cancer survivors, held in September 2022. U.S. News and World Report on best children's cancer hospitals released. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has launched the modernized ClinicalTrials.gov website, which is the result of a [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) met on June 16, 2023, to discuss considerations for dose optimization of new drug and biological products for pediatric patients with cancer. Recent improvements to the CCDI Molecular Targets Platform (MTP) include new and updated sequencing data and upgraded features, such as enhanced gene expression graphs for childhood cancer data. Find the MTP and other CCDI applications in the CCDI Hub. Base-edited CAR-T product 'potent' in relapsed childhood T-Cell ALL. Ahead of his discharge, Pope Francis made a surprise return visit to Gemelli Hospital's Paediatric Oncology and [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: National Comprehensive Cancer Network releases statement addressing ongoing chemotherapy shortages. Childhood cancer survivors at increased risk for sleep concerns decades after diagnosis CAC2 Supporting Organization Fennec Pharmaceuticals announces European Commission marketing authorization for Pedmarqsi™ (sodium thiosulfate) to reduce the risk of hearing loss in pediatric oncology patients. Adding the drug blinatumomab (Blincyto) to chemotherapy may help more infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survive, according to the results of a small international clinical trial. Parents of children in palliative care placed the highest value on the child's quality of life (QoL), but with considerable [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: A paper explaining NCI’s Childhood Cancer Data Initiative's (CCDI) accomplishments to date and discussing priorities for the future of the initiative was published last week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. NCI has also launched a large precision medicine cancer initiative to test the effectiveness of treating adults and children with new drug combinations that target specific tumor alterations. Known as the Combination Therapy Platform Trial with Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (ComboMATCH), the initiative is the largest of its kind to test combinations of cancer drugs guided by tumor biology. CAC2 Supporting Organization and [...] Read more

Happy Memorial Day! Assorted News from the Last Week: Researchers found that the probability of FDA approval within 10 years was 10.4%, but the probability of an investigational cancer drug attaining pediatric approval within 10 years was 1.4%. A cancer treatment collaboration between hospitals on the California/Mexico border aimed at improving survival by sharing knowledge, expertise, and resources among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) proved successful. Accumulation of chronic disease among childhood cancer survivors predicts early mortality. In 2006, the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) raised the minimum age at which patients could be assigned as having high-risk neuroblastoma from [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: About one-third of children and two-thirds of adults with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma responded to single-agent lorlatinib. Bereaved parents prioritized satisfactory symptom management above all other aspects of end-of-life care for their children who died of cancer, study results showed. Lenalidomide is a safe and effective therapy for children with pilocytic astrocytomas and optic pathway gliomas. Delivering childhood cancer care in fragile and conflict settings: best practices from the occupied Palestine territory Upcoming Webinars, Online Opportunities, and Meetings: NCI’s Office of Advocacy Relations would like to invite you to the upcoming webinar, Introduction to [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Childhood cancer survivors have increased rates of late, major surgeries—Magnitude of the risk is "striking." As the US faces a near-record number of drug shortages, cancer treatments are among the hardest hit. The Pediatric Cancer Dependencies Accelerator project aims to identify and exploit genetic vulnerabilities in pediatric cancers to develop better treatments. Lenalidomide showed activity in children with pilocytic astrocytomas and optic pathway gliomas who did not respond to initial therapy. Pediatric and young adult patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) who did not respond to induction therapy had poorer outcomes vs those [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Analysis finds found that “excellent” survival outcomes were achieved in patients receiving reduced treatment for neuroblastoma as a result of reassignment to intermediate risk from high risk based on a change in the minimum age for high-risk disease classification in Children’s Oncology Group (COG) risk stratification. Study explores psychosocial needs of African American parents of children with cancer. Newly developed competencies for Pediatric Palliative Care psychologists highlight unique contributions to PPC patient care and research and provide a framework for highlighting psychology’s value in this emerging subspecialty. STAT interviews Emily Whitehead, of CAC2 Member [...] Read more