Assorted News from the Last Week: Penn State students have raised more than $16.9 million for pediatric cancer patients in the annual 46-hour dance marathon known as Thon. More than 225 advocates from 32 states participated and shared their stories, asking for congressional support for important legislation and funding for childhood cancer.  CAC2 members, Alliance members, and many others across the country had their voices heard. U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), along with Ranking Member of Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas), and Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), introduced [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: A Belgian boy with DIPG has lived seven years after his diagnosis and now at 13 years old, there is no trace of the tumor left.  He was enrolled in the BIOMEDE trial, and from the start responded strongly to the cancer drug everolimus. CAC2 Blog post: A Tribute to Pediatric Cancer Caregivers: Honoring Heroes Research demonstrates the feasibility of linking central cancer registry and pediatric cancer clinical trial consortium data to track patients and describe gaps in clinical trial enrollment. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has introduced a simple tool in Latin America called [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first ever set of treatment recommendations pertaining to neuroblastoma. Replacing brentuximab vedotin with nivolumab in first-line treatment combined with the chemotherapy regimen AVD improved progression-free survival in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed, advanced-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Study results confirm that RNA sequencing analysis (RNA-Seq) workflow for clinical diagnosis of molecular subtypes in pediatric B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is a feasible method. A new rapid, cost-effective, and accurate ATRT subgrouping assay applicable for clinical use is presented. CAC2 Member ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation helps local 9-year-old [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Hispanic population appears underrepresented in pediatric cancer trials. Liquid biopsies to monitor therapy success and to predict the recurrence of the tumor in time to take medical countermeasures are being used for the first time in neuroblastoma patients through the MONALISA project. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public reminder to healthcare providers that PEDMARK (sodium thiosulfate injection) by CAC2 Supporting Organization Fennec Pharmaceuticals is not substitutable with other sodium thiosulfate products as explicitly directed in its prescribing label. World Cancer Day Trends:  The number of new cancer cases globally [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: A year after an investigation revealed widespread use of a substandard version of asparaginase, the World Health Organization and national drug regulators around the world have come under fire for failing to protect children from the dangerous chemotherapy. The drug tovorafenib may halt the growth of or shrink some childhood brain tumors, according to a clinical trial published in Nature Medicine. Bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy improved responses in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory, high-risk neuroblastoma. Over 3% of all cancer patients in India are under aged 15 and 4.6% under 20. Childhood cancer has long-term [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: The Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2) takes great pride in introducing its groundbreaking CAC2 Survivorship Toolkit. Training that increases self-confidence, reduces personal limitations, and decreases perceived barriers to fertility preservation (FP) care among oncology nurses can improve their ability to counsel patients about fertility preservation. Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have published an in-depth study into how the immune system’s T cells target pediatric brain tumors. Their research suggests that a small number of pediatric brain tumor patients already have cancer-fighting T cells within their tumors. High-deductible health plans erect ‘barriers’ [...] Read more