CAC2 Childhood Cancer Community News Digest (November 1-7)

Assorted news from last week:

Save the Date:  CureFest 2022 will be held Sep. 24 and 25 in Washington, DC.

The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) has collected tumor samples from patients at 26 member institutions all over the world. Through funding from the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  CBTN will procure molecular characterization for thousands of these brain tumor samples providing an unprecedented level of insight into devastating cancers and paving the way for future therapeutic interventions.

Compassionate use case of DAY101 demonstrates a complete response in a pediatric patient with a recurrent spindle cell sarcoma harboring a BRAF gene fusion.

Despite the relative rarity of childhood malignancies, especially within molecular subtypes, only 5.4% of pediatric cancer trials were intercontinental. The number of intercontinental trials remains small, with no significant increase over the last decade. The ACCELERATE International Collaboration Working Group aims to identify existing hurdles and propose solutions to improve intercontinental collaboration in clinical research for the benefit of children and adolescents with cancer.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists looking for drugs to improve survival of children with high-risk neuroblastoma found a promising candidate in CX-5461. Then researchers identified safety concerns with the experimental drug that have implications for current clinical trials in adults. The study appears today in Nature Communications.

Copper has been clinically improving the lives of people since about 1500 BCE, when an Egyptian physician first recorded its use as a treatment for inflammation. Some 35 centuries later, researchers have provided solid evidence that the first metal used medicinally may now have a new role — helping save children from a devastating central nervous system cancer known as medulloblastoma.

Researchers have developed a new test to more easily diagnose medulloblastoma, the most common malignant childhood brain tumor. The test — which can distinguish between extremely high-risk medulloblastoma cases that need radiation therapy from those that are lower-risk and do not need radiation — could help pave the way for personalized treatment options for children suffering from the disease. It relies on an antibody-based technique called immunohistochemistry which is widely available in clinical laboratories around the world.

Upcoming Webinars and Online Opportunities:

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is hosting the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) Annual Symposium on November 9, 2021. CCDI is building a community centered around childhood cancer care and research data. Through enhanced data sharing, we can improve our understanding of cancer biology to improve preventive measures, treatment, quality of life, and survivorship, as well as ensure that researchers learn from every child with cancer. The purpose of the symposium is to provide an update on activities to-date, and to exchange information to continue the momentum of progress from the first two years of CCDI.  Registration is required to attend the virtual meeting, complete the form under the Registration tab.  View the previous CCDI overview and update webinar from September 2021.

CAC2 member Janet Demeter (Jack’s Angels)  hosts Childhood Cancer Talk Radio.  Follow that link to access past episodes. Ellyn Miller join the conversation to talk about the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, the recent hearing with the Health Subcommittee, the opportunity which is still open for parents in the childhood cancer community to add to the Congressional Record of testimony.