Archive for neuroblastoma
Combining CAR-T cells and inhibitor drugs for high-risk neuroblastoma
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is a potent emerging weapon against cancer, altering patients’ T cells so they can better find and destroy tumor cells. But CAR-T cell therapy doesn’t work well in every cancer — including many cases of neuroblastoma, a cancer that begins in young children’s nerve tissue and can metastasize to ... Read More about Combining CAR-T cells and inhibitor drugs for high-risk neuroblastoma
Looking for cancer’s Achilles heel: The Pediatric Cancer Dependency Map
Thanks to developments in precision medicine, some adult cancers are now treated with designer drugs that target the genetic mutations that caused them. But most children with cancer have not reaped the same benefits. Unlike adult cancers, childhood cancers carry few genetic mutations. And the mutations these tumors do have are typically harder to make ... Read More about Looking for cancer’s Achilles heel: The Pediatric Cancer Dependency Map
Charlee: Bouncing back after neuroblastoma treatment
Call it mother’s intuition, but leading up to her daughter’s cancer diagnosis, Erica Jensen knew something wasn’t right. At just 10 months, Charlee had started walking, and since taking her first steps the excited toddler was constantly exploring the world around her. Then, at around 15 months, something changed. It wasn’t obvious at first — ... Read More about Charlee: Bouncing back after neuroblastoma treatment
Poverty predicts worse cancer outcomes, even in children receiving top-tier care
A pair of recent studies suggests that even among patients receiving advanced cancer care, poverty is a predictor of worse outcomes. The disturbing findings raise many questions that follow-up studies are now exploring. Key takeaways Poverty was associated with 3.7-fold higher mortality among children receiving targeted immunotherapy for high-risk neuroblastoma. Household poverty was associated with ... Read More about Poverty predicts worse cancer outcomes, even in children receiving top-tier care
Mouse/human model provides new way to study neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is a rare childhood cancer affecting about 800 children each year in the United States. Because of its unusual behavior — tumors in infants often disappear spontaneously without treatment while it can be aggressive and fatal in toddlers — studying the disease has been complicated. That may change with a new research tool: a ... Read More about Mouse/human model provides new way to study neuroblastoma
Most parents of children with advanced cancer don’t recognize their low chance of cure
End-of-life care for children with advanced cancer is often very intensive, and can cause much suffering. When parents recognize that a cure is unlikely, they often choose to spare their children from aggressive treatments and focus on the quality of their child’s remaining time. But a study published Oct. 4 in the journal Cancer finds ... Read More about Most parents of children with advanced cancer don’t recognize their low chance of cure
Meet BORIS: A new culprit in drug-resistant cancer?
Like a Russian bot corrupting U.S. elections, or a new prime minister wreaking havoc in the U.K., a protein named BORIS is showing itself to be a malevolent player in some childhood cancers. New research fingers BORIS as a culprit that can hack the neuroblastoma genome, rousing the cancer cells from dormancy after certain types ... Read More about Meet BORIS: A new culprit in drug-resistant cancer?
In high-risk neuroblastoma, two stem cell transplants may be better than one
Since the early 1990s, chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant has been the standard of care for high-risk neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that starts in nerve cells outside the brain, especially in the tissues of the adrenal glands, and sometimes the neck, chest, or pelvis. Before children receive chemotherapy to destroy the neuroblastoma, ... Read More about In high-risk neuroblastoma, two stem cell transplants may be better than one
Stella’s story: Winning against neuroblastoma
The Downey family was enjoying the holidays with family in Guatemala in 2017 when their 13-month-old daughter Stella started having unusual symptoms. “She was very clingy towards me and not acting like herself,” says Stella’s mom, Fiorella, a child life specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “It was so extreme that I brought her to the ... Read More about Stella’s story: Winning against neuroblastoma
Overriding resistance to epigenetic inhibitors in neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma and other children’s cancers pose unique challenges. They’re not caused by the same kinds of genetic mutations that cause adult cancers, and only a minority of their mutations can be targeted with drugs. In a recent study, a team led by Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center systematically deleted every gene ... Read More about Overriding resistance to epigenetic inhibitors in neuroblastoma