The Childhood Cancer Blog

The Childhood Cancer Blog

Welcome to The Childhood Cancer Blog
from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation!

During May, we honor Brain Tumor Awareness Month, to raise awareness of childhood brain tumors and the significant need for more research that will lead to new, safer cures.   Brain and Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors are the leading cause of death for children with cancer in the United States, overtaking childhood leukemia in 2016. While leukemia has seen an increase in survival rates over the last several decades due to improved treatments, brain tumors lag behind with fewer innovative treatments. 

Decades have gone by without changes in treatment plans or outcomes in some... Read More

  • University of Colorado Denver investigator and ALSF Young Investigator grantee Dr. Jean Mulcahy-Levy has been studying chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine  for nearly 11 years as a potential therapy for children with brain tumors with the BRAF mutation.
    University of Colorado Denver investigator and ALSF Young Investigator grantee Dr. Jean Mulcahy-Levy has been studying chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine  for nearly 11 years as a potential therapy for children with brain tumors with the BRAF mutation.
  • Dr. Stephanie Hicks, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and ALSF Crazy 8 Initiative grantee, is working to create the tools required to analyze childhood cancer data at the single-cell level.
    Dr. Stephanie Hicks, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and ALSF Crazy 8 Initiative grantee, is working to create the tools required to analyze childhood cancer data at the single-cell level.
  • Dr. Michelle Monje has been funded by ALSF through several grant programs to study DIPG and is currently co-leading the Crazy 8 Initiative’s High-Grade Glioma working group.
  • Above, Dr. Yael Mosse, MD from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, together with two of patients Edie and Emily Gilger,  shares the remarkable story of a research breakthrough with guests at the 2019 Lemon Ball.
  • Above, Dr. Jennifer Foster with her patient Eden Green. Dr. Foster led a clinical trial for children with relapsed solid tumors. 

Every day, 43 children are diagnosed with childhood cancer in the United States. Globally, cancer stole 11.5 million years of healthy life away from children in 2017. Childhood cancer diagnoses don’t stop and neither do the dedicated researchers working to make childhood cancer history. 

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) works to fund researchers at all points in their career — from the Pediatric Oncology Student Training (POST)... Read More

  • Above, Dr. Patrick Reynolds at The Childhood Cancer Repository in Lubbock, TX. Since its inception, the Childhood Cancer Repository has been powering childhood cancer research effort. As of February 2020, the Repository sent 2910 samples to 484 laboratories in 28 countries.
    Above, Dr. Patrick Reynolds at The Childhood Cancer Repository in Lubbock, TX. Since its inception, the Childhood Cancer Repository has been powering childhood cancer research effort. As of February 2020, the Repository sent 2910 samples to 484 laboratories in 28 countries.
  • Above, Lilly Ibbotson with her family. “We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom.  Families like the Ibbotsons can help accelerate research through tissue sample donation."
    Above, Lilly Ibbotson with her family. “We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom.  Families like the Ibbotsons can help accelerate research through tissue sample donation.
  • Above, staff at The Childhood Cancer Repository process and create cell lines from donated tissue. The Repository currently has 568 cell lines and 105 xenografts. That work will give researchers deeper insight into the specific mutations and biomarkers across these tumors. Because childhood cancer remains such a rare disease, this breadth of data could reveal novel ways to approach treatment if common targets are identified across tumors.   
    Above, staff at The Childhood Cancer Repository process and create cell lines from donated tissue. The Repository currently has 568 cell lines and 105 xenografts. That work will give researchers deeper insight into the specific mutations and biomarkers across these tumors. Because childhood cancer remains such a rare disease, this breadth of data could reveal novel ways to approach treatment if common targets are identified across tumors.   

When Lilly faced surgery after relapsing, her family made the decision to donate extra tumor tissue to research instead of throwing it away. 

“We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom. 

Tissue donation is a critical but often overlooked piece of childhood cancer research. As childhood cancer researchers work to find the drugs that could be cures, they are facing a critical shortage of tissue samples to... Read More

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