Giselle Saulnier Sholler, professor of pediatrics and of pharmacology, reflects on 20 years working to change cancer outcomes for children
HERSHEY, Pa. — In 2003, the first year of her fellowship in pediatric oncology, two of Giselle Saulnier Sholler’s first three patients had died from neuroblastoma, closely matching the 30% survival rate expected at the time for high-risk neuroblastoma. She knew research was the only way to change these outcomes. Now, 20 years later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first drug — based on Sholler’s research and clinical trials she led through the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium — to reduce the risk of relapse for pediatric high-risk neuroblastoma patients.