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Assorted News from the Last Week: White House announces new Cancer Moonshot Initiatives, including several initiatives involving CAC2 Members: xCures, a health-data technology platform, is launching a study to enhance the collection and organization of comprehensive data for Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG) and Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). The study will streamline and standardize data gathering and identify patterns that can predict disease progression and treatment response, leading to more personalized treatment plans and targeted therapies. xCures pledges to maintain the data infrastructure for this study, and to make the data freely available to academic and government researchers. This will [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: A retrospective study shows that more intense ALL therapy improves outcomes in adolescents and young adults.  This treatment option was developed by "pediatric-inspired protocols" and showed improved event-free, relapse-free survival for Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphocytic leukemia. Autolus Therapeutics announced the publication of data from the AUTO1/22 Phase 1 study (CARPALL) in Pediatric B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia where 83% of patients achieved MRD negative, indicating a significant reduction in disease burden. The Seattle-based drugmaker Seagen will team up with CAC2 Supporting Organization Nurix to develop degrader-antibody conjugates (DAC), in a bid to combine their expertise [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Major League Soccer, MLS WORKS – the League’s social responsibility platform – and Continental Tire are teaming up during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with the 10th annual “Kick Childhood Cancer” (KCC) campaign to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research and treatment. Are cannabis products safe and effective for reducing symptoms in children with cancer? Analysis finds insufficient data from published studies. From Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: Scientists have successfully transformed rhabdomyosarcoma cells into healthy functioning muscle cells. Could this lab breakthrough help bring differentiation therapy to the clinic? In relapsed/refractory BRAF V600–mutant pHGG, [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Despite major advances in cancer research, we collectively fall short in bringing innovative medicines to children with cancer.  A new proposal defines a business model to incentivize investors, private companies and public organizations to invest in drug development for paediatric cancers.   Use of homoharringtonine (HHT) may result in improved responses among patients with pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) compared with etoposide-based induction therapy, according to findings from a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Researchers at Texas A&M University announced a project to explore the use of 3D printing technology to [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Two Weeks: Latino children are at greater risk of developing certain cancers, and their short and long-term outcomes are often worse than other children with cancer. Approximately 1 in 15 children receiving cancer treatment in low- and middle-income countries die from treatment-related complications. Although treatment-related mortality has decreased in upper–middle-income countries over time, it remains unchanged in low- and middle-income countries. There is an urgent need for targeted supportive care interventions to reduce global disparities in childhood cancer survival. The FDA has issued a complete response letter to a resubmitted biologics license application (BLA) for remestemcel-L [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: High-Throughput drug screening of primary tumor cells identifies therapeutic strategies for treating children with high-risk cancer. Tribute to CAC2 Member Donna “Nana” Marie Carmical’s (Journey4ACure) life was a testament to the power of love, determination, and selflessness. Her journey from a grieving grandmother to a fierce advocate for childhood cancer showcased her unyielding commitment to making the world a better place for young patients. Epigenetically guided cancer therapy: Targeting H3K27me3 loss in pediatric brain tumors The addition of blinatumomab (Blincyto) to chemotherapy did not improve overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) over chemotherapy [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: The Senate Appropriations Committee has released its Fiscal Year 2024 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, and we are excited to report that it included language to fully fund the Childhood Cancer STAR Act and the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative again this year.   Over 350,000 children in developing world missing out on cancer treatment. Approximately one in 15 children receiving cancer treatment in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) die from treatment-related complications. Although treatment-related mortality has decreased in upper-middle-income countries over time, it remains unchanged in LMICs. Boston Children's Hospital has 10 dedicated garden spaces on [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: A Danish study shows that five-year survival of all children with acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) has continued to increase to 94%. Nivolumab-AVD is poised to be the new standard of care for Hodgkin Lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients. The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to gallium maltolate for use as a potential therapeutic option in pediatric patients with glioblastoma multiforme. The war with Russia compounds the struggles of pediatric cancer patients and their families, but it has also prompted positive changes in treatment in Ukraine. (NYTimes, gated) In a study reported [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: From the Journal of the National Cancer Institute: "the annual rate of pediatric cancer has declined from a peak in 2016 but remains higher than 20 years ago."   Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are overweight or obese and are treated with asparaginase-containing pediatric regimens, are likelier to have poorer outcomes than those with normal body mass index. In Gabrielle Zevin's novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, video games are channels of healing, imagination and love. The book spans more than 30 years — from the 1980s to [...] Read more

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