Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a malignant cancer of bone and soft tissues that occurs mainly in children, adolescents and young adults. Currently, combinations of intensive chemotherapy, surgery and radiation are only 70% effective for localized tumors, and these therapies can cause lifelong health problems in survivors. If the tumors spread, fewer than 1/3 of patients will survive. New therapeutic advances are needed that are more effective with fewer toxic side effects.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common type of muscle cancer in children. When this cancer spreads to other parts of the body (a process called metastasis), it becomes much harder to treat, and survival rates drop to as low as 20%. Therefore, understanding how this cancer spreads is crucial for developing better treatments. One type of this cancer, fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma (FPRMS), has a special abnormal gene that combines two genes, PAX3 and FOXO1. This type tends to spread more than the other type that doesn't have this fusion gene.