Current Research and Initiatives to Fight Pediatric Cancer

Cancer is a leading cause of death among children and adolescents. To a significant amount of the human population, cancer carries a daunting connotation. People may believe that death is inevitable or life will be severely impaired if children do survive cancer. However, in order to reduce the number of deaths and negative consequences, notable organizations established initiatives and continue to conduct research.

For instance, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF) created the Sunshine Project in 2005. This initiative aims to deliver personalized care to children battling cancer. Through the Sunshine Project, several clinical trials have been launched over the years to develop innovative and efficient treatments. Furthermore, a combination of drugs and therapies have been studied to produce beneficial treatments instead of utilizing just one technique.

More than 20 hospitals are part of the Sunshine Project and collaborate in order to target the various areas of childhood cancer from diagnosis to supporting the child. Moreover, the Sunshine Project’s contribution to pediatric cancer can be illustrated by the $30 million dedicated to pediatric cancer research and 28 unique projects. Some examples of research and projects that have been developed by the members of the Sunshine Project include drugs to treat sarcoma, trials for relapsed sarcoma, research regarding improved methods for detecting sarcoma, and the Pediatric Total Cancer Care initiative (which focuses on blood and tissue collection to confirm diagnosis and treatment).

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is based in the United States and hones in on the various aspects of pediatric cancer (not only treatment). According to the NCI, even if children survive the strenuous, arduous fight against cancer, they can experience long term effects from the disease or its treatment. This is why research is being conducted: to develop effective and safer treatments.

A few areas of research that the NCI performs include “basic research to enhance our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of cancer, clinical research to test new treatments for safety and effectiveness, and survivorship research to reduce the long-term adverse effects of cancer and its treatment.

An example of basic research conducted by NCI is the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 for gene editing. This finding contributed to the study of which genes control cancer cell growth and survival in childhood and adult cancers.

A research article published by the NCI focused on the development of an immunotherapy drug known as Blinatumomab. Scientists hypothesized that this drug can be used to treat relapsed B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) (when there are too many immature white blood cells in the bone marrow and in blood). The results of this experiment illustrated that Blinatumomab enabled young cancer patients to live longer and had less side effects when compared to chemotherapy (Treatment with chemotherapy but had severe side effects and did not reduce the amount of leukemia which led to more complications).

Research enables the scientific community to stretch the scope of science. It also allows us to make advancements with procedures or technology we already have. Therefore, research plays a prominent role in taking steps towards creating less invasive and advantageous treatments and methods to increase children’s chance of survival when combating cancer.

Despite the numerous advancement in research for childhood cancer, there are obstacles in furthering this research. For one, cancer is uncommon in children when compared to cancer in other age groups. Childhood cancer represents 1% of all news cases of cancer in the US each year. Cause of most childhood cancers is unknown. However, some are linked to genetic abnormalities, exposure to radiation during diagnosis, environmental conditions, etc.

The type of cancers that develop in children are different from those that develop in adults. For example, retinoblastoma in the eye and osteosarcoma in the bone are more common in children than in adults, so dealing with a difference in proportion and demographics poses a challenge to research. Lastly, childhood cancers are biologically different from cancers in adults.

Not only is researching and establishing programs regarding treatment important, but considering early diagnosis and palliative care is essential as well. The WHO has partnered with other organizations such as the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer to ensure that children across the globe of all socioeconomic statuses have access to adequate facilities for cancer treatment.

Over time, the goal of the cancer and pediatric cancer organizations is to enable more children to survive their fights against these horrible, terrifying diseases. With the aid of research and other beneficial initiatives, this goal may be attainable in the near future.

Sources:

https://nationalpcf.org/research/

https://nationalpcf.org/research/projects/ (sunshine project)

https://www.cancer.gov/research/areas/childhood

https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/crispr-cas9

https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2021/blinatumomab-relapsed-b-cell-leukemia-children-young-adults

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer-in-children