Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Ewing sarcoma is a cancer most often diagnosed in teenagers. We know that some changes in the make-up of Ewing tumors make them more likely to be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body. When Ewing sarcoma spreads to other parts of the body, like the lung, it is very hard to cure. Radiation is one therapy used to treat Ewing sarcoma in the lungs. Radiation can directly damage tumor cells and can also "call" immune cells into the tumor to help attack cancer cells.

Medulloblastoma (MB) arises in the cerebellum. Group 3, one of four MB subgroups (WNT, SHH, Group 3, and Group 4), is the most aggressive and malignant type in children. Group 3 is characterized by frequent metastasis at diagnosis and the worst prognosis. Although surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are effective at eliminating some forms, patients with Group 3 cannot be cured with conventional therapies and also face a paucity of molecularly targeted therapies.

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP) has a long tradition of participation in pediatric oncology research. CHP is one of 21 institutions in the Children's Oncology Group (COG) Phase 1 Consortium and 1 of 10 in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC). We enrolled the largest number of patients to PBTC trials and are the third highest enroller to COG Phase I studies this year.

In simple terms, what is your research project?

Support for a new pediatric cancer drug therapy at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

What type of childhood cancer does your project focus on?