Penn State College of Medicine, Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium and Four Diamonds launch clinical trial that aims to combat solid tumors
In a step toward fighting solid tumors in children and young adults, Penn State College of Medicine, the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium and Four Diamonds, along with Senhwa Biosciences, Inc. are launching a pioneering clinical[...]
Q&A: Finding novel therapies for childhood cancer
Since the first time she treated a child with neuroblastoma, Giselle Saulnier Sholler wanted to do the impossible for her patients. Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children with[...]
FDA approves pediatric neuroblastoma drug based on Penn State professor’s work
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[...]
US WorldMeds Announces FDA Approval of IWILFIN™ (eflornithine) to Strengthen Fight Against Aggressive Childhood Cancer
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USWM, LLC (US WorldMeds) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved IWILFIN™ (eflornithine) 192 mg tablets, a groundbreaking oral maintenance therapy for high-risk[...]
Penn State Health recruits leading researcher to fight pediatric cancer
Cris Collingwood//August 2, 2023 An internationally known physician-scientist and her research consortium have joined Penn State Health to continue efforts to eradicate pediatric cancer. Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine[...]
The Power of Will
Will Lacey was just a baby when doctors diagnosed a rare form of cancer and told his family there was only one end. Nobody then could imagine the journey ahead,[...]
Michigan Child Trials Target Genetic Roots of Cancers
Thank you Detroit News for featuring a story about the work we are doing. It wouldn’t be possible without the support of Dell, TGen Foundation and our generous community. Together,[...]
$1,100,000 for Beat Childhood Cancer Research!
On December 24, 2014 the Grand Rapids community surpassed the Million Dollar Challenge by raising $1,100,000 for NMTRC research! This donation was then matched by a generous Beat NB donor[...]
Endowment Gift Establishes Haworth Family Pediatric Oncology Innovative Therapeutics Clinic at Helen Devos Children’s Hospital
Children fighting cancer have new hope thanks to an endowment gift from Dick and Ethie Haworth to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation. Their major gift establishes the Haworth Family[...]
Research: Beat Childhood Cancer
The Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium is a group of 54+ universities and children's hospitals
Throwback Thursday!
In September, Lauren Smith and Julie Steinbrecher presented on behalf of the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium (BCC) at the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON) Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The poster was titled "Clinical Administration of DFMO (Eflornithine) is Flexible in Pediatric Patients with High-Risk Neuroblastoma (HRNB)"
The findings demonstrated that whole and crushed DFMO tablets have similar bioavailability. This allows flexibility in administering DFMO in real-world, outpatient setting, enabling ease of use in children in remission from HRNB who have difficulty swallowing intact tablets due to age or coexisting conditions. Care must be taken, however, to ensure that children swallow the entire DFMO dose if it has been mixed with liquid/food to achieve the potential benefits associated with DFMO maintenance therapy.
Thank you Lauren and Julie! They also had some of our colleagues from Arkansas Children's stop by as well!
We are attending the Advancing Precision Medicine Conference in Philadelphia, PA this weekend! Dr. Sholler had the honor of sitting on the panel and presenting during the session yesterday titled “Unlocking the Next Quantum Leap in Precision Medicine”.
The esteemed panel included:
- Janet Woodcock, Former FDA
- Giselle Sholler, BCC and Penn State Health Children's Hospital and Penn State College of Medicine
- Ezra Cohen, Tempus
- Eric Schadt, Pathos
- Nick Seddon, Optum Genomics
- Henry Rodriguez, NCI/NIH
- Jennifer Leib, Innovation Policy Solutions
- Susan Monarez, ARPA-H
- Amanda Paulovich, Fred Hutch
“To propel precision medicine into its next phase of advancement, we must overcome formidable challenges extending beyond scientific and technological barriers. Our current reliance on single-gene and single-protein diagnostics is a bottleneck, limiting our predictive capabilities….The future of diagnostics lies in an evolution towards NextGen solutions characterized by algorithmic-driven patient care derived from artificial intelligence based methodologies applied to extensive, longitudinal, multimodal patient datasets. This evolution will require holistic integration of clinical, demographic, laboratory/imaging, sensor and molecular data. However this transformation is impeded by a lack of alignment in our biomedical ecosystem and non-scientific barriers (e.g. regulatory, legislative, economic, reimbursement, clinical practicalities, data availability, scale of research).”
This was a wonderful town hall full of great insights and better discussion as we move precision medicine forward so that there are not continued barriers to access for every new patient everywhere.
#advancingprecisionmedicine #apm2024 #beatchildhoodcancer
Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium had 3 posters and participated in 3 oral presentations at the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) 2024.
Oral Presentations included:
- Dr. Kraveka presented Survival Outcomes for High-Risk Neuroblastoma Patients in Remission after Relapsed/Refractory Treatment Receiving DFMO
- Dr. Sholler participated in a “Meet the Expert” Session with Dr. Glaser, Dr. Shimada, and others to present a metastatic neuroblastoma patient treated with naxitamab added to upfront induction treatment cycles (per BCC018) and randomized to DFMO added to maintenance (per NMTRC012)
- Dr. Sholler also presented an IWILFIN (DFMO) Product Theater describing the mechanism of action and how it may fit into the treatment regimen for high-risk neuroblastoma patients
Posters Presented included:
- Dr. Kraveka presented Survival Outcomes in Patients with High-Risk Neuroblastoma receiving DFMO with Matched External Controls: a Subgroup Analysis on Geographic Region
- Our intern, Chloe, presented Targeting HDAC2 in Ewing Sarcoma with Romidepsin Synergizing with Chemotherapy in Vitro and in Vivo
- Our intern, Laura, presented Precision Medicine for Medulloblastoma Identifying Targeted Therapy
We cannot wait until next year!!
#SIOPcongress #beatchildhoodcancer
We are at the International Society of Paediatric Oncology - SIOP 2024 Congress this week connecting with our international colleagues and talking about our exciting research!
Congratulations to the 19 Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium (BCC) Hospitals that ranked in the U.S. News and World Report for the Best Childrens Hospitals across the nation! We are so fortunate to collaborate with so many amazing institutions across the country!
health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings/cancer
This month last year, October 4, 2023, the ODAC (Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee) voted 14-6 to recommend U.S. FDA approval of DFMO (iwilfin). It was an amazing year and we are looking forward to continuing to push pediatric oncology research forward. There is still so much more work to do!
