Grants Search Results

This grant funds two students to complete work in pediatric oncology research for the summer. The experience may encourage them to choose childhood cancer research as a specialty. Project 1: Neuroblastomas are an enigmatic cancer of childhood with subtypes that have extremely good or poor survival. Poor prognosis neuroblastomas contain normal immune cells that help tumors grow. Important questions are 1) what is the repertoire of immune cells in neuroblastomas at time of diagnosis, 2) how the interplay between normal and tumor cells changes when tumors recur. The Summer Fellow will analyze images of tumors at recurrence and compare to the diagnosis images. These findings will provide insights into the types of immune cells that cancer cells rely on and may allow identification of new targets of therapy. Project 2: Decline in brain function may happen after irradiation to the brain in children. It is hard to predict the extent and speed by which it happens. There is suggestion that more rapid injury happens in areas with iron deposition. Using a novel MRI method that allows chemical identification and quantification of iron in the brain, the Summer Fellow will characterize the imaging changes in white matter of the brain in children who have been treated with radiation for their brain tumors. This will allow to then correlate the changes with future outcome of their cognitive function.

Integrative oncology is a patient-centered, evidence-informed field of cancer care that uses mind and body practices, natural products, and lifestyle modifications from various traditions alongside traditional cancer treatments. Many complementary and alternative medicine approaches have been shown to improve symptom control and quality of life for patients and survivors. The field of integrative oncology has emerged in recent years as interest in and the use of these therapies have grown. The goal of this scientific discipline is to combine evidence-based complementary medicine and traditional cancer treatment to address the diverse needs of patients with cancer and their families. This grant supports an Integrative and Supportive Care Oncology Coordinator to ensure that more kids can be treated on supportive care and integrative oncology clinical trials.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Johnston was awarded a new grant in 2022 to fund an additional year of this Scholar grant. Hospice (home-based end of life care focusing on pain control and emotional support) leads to better quality of life for the dying person and easier grief for families when an adult dies of cancer. We do not know if the same is true in children. We do not know rates of hospice use in children dying of cancer, what inequalities exist, nor how families perceive hospice, especially in minorities. Dr. Johnston aims to better understand US pediatric hospice use with a focus on minorities. Her team will determine rates of and inequities in hospice use in children dying of cancer nationally and then interview families that had a child die of cancer and pediatric oncology and hospice teams to determine if the inequities are in line with child and family preferences. Early palliative care in adults leads to better quality of life and more hospice and home death. It is unknown if the same is true in children with cancer. Dr. Johnston and colleagues will offer early palliative care to children with brain tumors to determine if early palliative care is acceptable to families and providers and if a randomized control trial would be possible. After this project, she will be able to use information and skills gained to design a trial aimed at improving hospice access for those that desire hospice that builds on the lessons learned in this study. Researchers will then better understand hospice in children with cancer, necessary to ensure all children dying of cancer have high quality end of life care.

For children with pediatric brain tumors radiation therapy has been the backbone of treatment, in combination with surgery and chemotherapy. Although pediatric brain tumors can be highly responsive to radiation its use needs to be limited since radiation can be damaging to the brain, causing abnormal inflammation and long-term cognitive deficits that will profoundly impact the lives of patients. As the recipient of the Benicio Martinez Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research St. Baldrick's Research Grant, Dr. Sredni and her colleagues have identified a new drug (MW151) that can be given orally to patients receiving radiation therapy and can protect their brains against the cognitive decay caused by radiation. They are about to start a clinical trial, funded by the government (NIH/NCI), associating MW151 to whole brain radiation for the treatment of adults with brain metastases. Her goal is to move this approach to the pediatric population. This project is performing experiments that will test if inhibiting neuroinflammation with MW151 will interfere with brain tumor's response to radiation. This information is crucial to allow them to move forward with the studies necessary to use this protective drug in children. This new drug candidate has the potential to provide a safe and effective new adjunct protective treatment strategy. It can potentially transform the care and significantly improve the quality of life of our young patients and their families. Weeks after being the top fundraiser in his 6th grade class and shaving his head at his school’s event, Benny was diagnosed with medulloblastoma. Despite complications from treatment and setbacks, Benny has an amazing can-do attitude and is battling the cancer with determination. This grant is funded by the Hero Fund that honors Benny’s fight and supports cures and better treatments for kids like him.

Clinical trials have been essential to the great progress that has been made toward curing childhood cancer. New personalized therapies in current clinical trials promise to be more effective and less toxic than drugs in the past. But, to truly understand what a child finds most bothersome and provide the best quality of life possible, we need to ask the child directly. No one has done this for children receiving personalized therapies for cancer that has returned or not responded to chemotherapy, a group where quality of life is especially important. To answer this question, a team from Seattle Childrens Hospital/University of Washington and Boston Childrens Hospital/Dana Farber Research Institute designed this study. Dr. Steineck and colleagues are using surveys, especially made for children, to learn what children feel when they are treated on a clinical trial and what bothers them the most. This will help doctors find better ways to recognize and treat these symptoms, alleviate suffering, and improve how children view their quality of life. Knowing this is important for families to understand what their child may experience with treatments used on todays clinical trials and guide them in their very important, but difficult decision about the care their child receives. This grant is funded by and named for Friends for Hope, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund created to honor Morgan Loudon and celebrate her strength and determination as a cancer survivor. Morgan was 9 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare rhabdoid tumor and today she has no evidence of disease. With this fund, the Loudon family hopes to rally family and friends to “battle on” in the search for cures and better treatments. This grant was awarded at Seattle Children's and transferred to Medical College of Wisconsin.

Children and adolescents everywhere in the world get cancer and both the type of cancer, and perhaps more importantly, where they live in the world, factor into whether they live or die. This is due to major disparities between countries in access to optimal treatment, early abandonment of therapy despite the potential for cure, and availability of quality supportive care. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, is mostly curable in countries with strong health systems, like the United States. However, we do not know the exact number of children and adolescents who develop and die from ALL worldwide, because many countries with limited resources also lack quality health registration systems. Identification of context-appropriate strategies to prevent future deaths in children with ALL are necessary, and when combined with improved burden estimates, can guide policy decisions more effectively. Knowing that the majority of countries in the world have limited resources, this project will determine what the best interventions are to improve outcomes for children and adolescents with ALL now, while testing ways to improve estimates of the number of children with ALL who are currently not correctly diagnosed or do not reach healthcare. Awarded at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and transferred to University of Washington.

Eight out of ten children with cancer will be cured and will become long-term survivors. However, children with cancer experience serious side-effects during, and even after, finishing treatment that negatively affect their well-being. There is also variation and unpredictability in who will experience these side-effects. Additionally, despite the best treatments, some children are not cured and ultimately lose their fight against cancer. Dr. Wadhwa is examining the role played by body composition (fat and muscle) of children with cancer on side-effects and cure rates. The dose of chemotherapy has been based on height and weight. Dr. Wadhwa and colleagues believe that body composition plays an important role in how the chemotherapy is distributed in the various compartments of the body. They are using routinely performed CT scans to determine body composition and plan to identify a method to personalize the chemotherapy dose for each child and minimize serious side-effects but at the same time, maximize cure rates.

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients face depression and anxiety that are unique to their cancer diagnoses. Existing psychotherapies that work well for general depression and anxiety do not work effectively for the AYA population. Untreated psychological stress and distress (like depression or anxiety) will result in young patients' non-compliance to medical treatment, low quality of life among others. These psychological challenges stand in the way between these patients and a successful recovery. Therefore, as the recipient of the Julia's Legacy of Hope St. Baldrick’s Supportive Care Research Grant, Dr. Zhang is developing and evaluating a computer-based cognitive behavioral therapy that is specifically tailored for AYA cancer patients. Results of this study will improve the treatment for AYA cancer patients' depression and anxiety to improve their medical compliance and quality of life. This grant is funded by and named for Julia's Legacy of Hope, a Hero Fund that honors her positive, courageous spirit and carries out her last wish: "no child should have to go through what I have experienced". Diagnosed at 16 with Ewing sarcoma, Julia fought cancer and survived only to be stricken by a secondary cancer as a result of treatment. Her family hopes to raise awareness and funds for research especially for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) patients.

Pediatric brain tumor patients are at risk for deficits in cognitive functioning, including attention, memory, and processing speed. Evaluation of these functions by neuropsychologists is important for connecting patients with appropriate interventions to reduce academic or vocational difficulties. Despite the importance of neuropsychological services, traditional assessments are time consuming and costly for both providers and families. As such, neuropsychological surveillance is often limited. Due to advances in technology, computerized neuropsychological batteries were developed that can be completed via internet in the home. As the recipient of the Grace for Good Fund St. Baldrick's Supportive Care Research Grant, Dr. Raghubar is determining if children diagnosed and treated for brain tumor can successfully complete web-based tests. Patients currently receiving annual neuropsychological evaluations will be asked to complete a web-based battery. She will evaluate 1) the rate of successful completion; 2) the relationship between performance on the computerized and traditional neuropsychological tests; and 3) the degree to which patients are similarly categorized as demonstrating impaired versus non-impaired neurocognitive abilities when assessed using either form of assessment. This line of research has the potential to improve the clinical care of patients and survivors. She may also find a solution to the problems that have plagued late-effects research for decades, such as poor participation and high dropout rates. This grant is named for the Grace for Good Fund in honor of Grace Carey and celebrates her survivorship from medulloblastoma. While Grace handled her treatments with minor setbacks, she now faces challenges wrought by the very medications and procedures that saved her life. This fund was inspired by her desire to help other kids with cancer and supports research of brain tumors and the multitude of challenges facing survivors post treatment.

Many chemotherapy drugs used in childhood cancer have the potential to damage peripheral nerves and thus may impact a child’s ability to function. Early detection of this nerve damage is important to tailor treatment plans and initiate rehabilitation interventions. Currently, no measure of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) exists that is appropriate for use in children ages 1-4 years, an age group that is more commonly impacted by a number of childhood cancers. Thus, Dr. Gilchrist is finalizing the development of a scale of CIPN specifically tailored for young children that focuses on eliciting responses to test nerve function (such as tendon reflexes and strength of muscle groups) as well as developmentally appropriate measures of motor function (such as grasping an object or standing on one foot). She is also comparing results from 25 children ages 1-4 years being treated for cancer with neurotoxic treatments and 25 age and gender-matched controls to determine if the measure is both reliable and valid. If successful, she will be able to provide an objective measure for this common treatment side-effect that should positively impact both research and clinical care for these young children.

With increased survival for children with cancer, efforts that prevent long-term health problems are important for improving the quality of life and life expectancy of these children. Diet and fitness are two critical factors for healthy survivorship, but interventions for survivors of childhood cancer have had limited impact, focus almost exclusively on physical activity, and often exclude caregivers, the primary nutrition gatekeepers in the home. Although research supports a key role for the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome in regulating weight and health outcomes, no studies have examined the “obesogenic” microbiome in the context of interventions for these survivors. Harvesting Hope for Kids (HH4K) is a unique, biobehavioral lifestyle intervention delivered over 8 weeks during the summer in a university-based, cancer survivor garden. It was adapted from a successful intervention for survivors of adult-onset cancer, with pilot data supporting its feasibility in children. In line with St. Baldrick’s mission to improve outcomes for children with cancer, this randomized controlled trial is evaluating the efficacy of HH4K to improve dietary and physical activity patterns in 40 survivors of pediatric cancer (i.e., ages 8-12; < 2 years off treatment). Results will support a larger, multi-institutional trial and improve survivorship care to prevent costly, long-term morbidity.

This grant supports an oncology social worker to support families and ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

The survival rates of pediatric cancers have dramatically improved over the past 40 years due to aggressive treatment regimens, which have side effects. Anthracyclines are one class of chemotherapy drugs that have been used to treat more than 190,000 childhood cancer survivors but cause risk of cardiovascular disease. Connecticut Children's team of oncologists, cardiologists and endocrinologists has developed a clinical practice guidelines to prevent and recognize early cardiovascular disease in pediatric cancer survivors. Dr. Orsey is testing their scoring system among childhood cancer patients from a database and in the clinic. She anticipates that the scoring system will allow doctors to standardize the way they treat patients so that cardiovascular disease is prevented or recognized and treated early in order to decrease heart disease in childhood cancer survivors.

Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may have difficulty learning because of problems with attention and working memory caused by the medications they receive during the course of their leukemia treatment. The Georgia and the Peachy Keens St. Baldrick's Supportive Care Research Grant is determining if children would be willing to complete 25 computer-based training sessions (designed as games) over an 8-week period, at home, while they are taking oral chemotherapy medications. These computer games are designed to improve attention and working memory. If this study proves that children are willing to complete the training and participate in short (10- to 15-minute) evaluations of their attention and memory, Dr. Winick will then test this intervention with a larger number of children to see how well it works and how long any effects last. This grant is named for the Georgia and the Peachy Keens Hero Fund which was created in honor of Georgia Moore’s 5th year past her cancer diagnosis. As a leukemia survivor, she inspires others to “just keep swimming” by raising awareness, hope and research dollars.

Children treated for leukemia often have difficulty with school and learning. These children are also known to report sleep disturbances. With the MaxLove Project Fund St. Baldrick's Supportive Care Research Grant, Dr. Ruble is measuring sleep with a home monitor, and testing survivors for specific learning difficulties. She will then examine the relationship between sleep and cognitive function in this population. Dr. Ruble hopes in the future that this will allow researchers to design treatments for sleep disturbances that will ultimately help with learning and school. The MaxLove Project Fund honors the survivorship journey of Max Wilford who was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor at the age of four. Despite several surgeries and an intense treatment protocol, Max is now able to be a “regular” kid due in large part to integrative therapies he received.

Children and adolescents with cancer and their families are at increased risk for psychosocial problems that can contribute to poorer health and quality of life, and it has been recommended that pediatric cancer centers develop programs to screen patients and families for psychosocial risk. The majority of pediatric cancers centers do not have practices in place to effectively and routinely screen all patients and families for psychosocial difficulties, with time and resources being acknowledged as barriers to implementation. Dr. Gilleland Marchak is developing a novel, patient-friendly technology to screen for psychosocial risk and evaluating its use at a large pediatric cancer center. Study outcomes will include data related to feasibility and acceptability of electronic screening, as well as efficacy in identifying families in distress and connecting them with family support team members to address problems in real time. By successfully leveraging technology to reduce barriers to universal psychosocial screening, we can improve communication between oncology providers and families regarding critical mental health, neurocognitive, and social issues that may negatively impact pediatric cancer treatment and health outcomes.

Dr. Deatrick is developing family support and education materials for maternal caregivers of young adult survivors of childhood brain tumors to improve their quality of life and quality of life of the survivors. Training in Problem Solving (TIPS) for Caregivers, leverages past research, eHealth, and Bright IDEAS family problem-solving intervention (an evidence-based intervention for caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer) to target challenges identified by maternal caregivers to their family management. TIPS is targeted to caregivers with “condition-focused FM” (family life organized around the special needs of the survivor). Using the prototype session developed in partnership with maternal caregivers, Dr. Deatrick will work with them to design the web-based intervention. She will develop other sessions of TIPS and adapt them to technology, which will be used “live” online with a health care provider and online with interactive homework sheets, videos, and other resources. Future research will involve fathers and other caregivers, survivors, and other family members.

Children diagnosed with brain tumors and their parents have many challenges when there is little hope for a cure. Research shows that children who have an incurable brain tumor and their parents are stressed, less happy with their lives, and in poorer health when compared to healthy children and their parents, yet no known helpful coping strategies have been developed for this brain tumor population. Mindfulness exercises are a type of coping tool that help people pay attention to the present moment and handle difficult emotions that come up when facing very stressful life events. In particular, mindfulness exercises have been shown to improve quality of life in children and adults with terminal illness. With the MaxLove Project Fund St. Baldrick's Supportive Care Research Grant, Dr. Allen is evaluating a new coping program using age-appropriate mindfulness activities to improve the quality of life of children diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor and their families. Coping interventions are greatly needed for this population. The MaxLove Project Fund honors the survivorship journey of Max Wilford who was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor at the age of four. Despite several surgeries and an intense treatment protocol, Max is now able to be a “regular” kid due in large part to integrative therapies he received.

ALL is the most common blood cancer occurring in children. Great strides have been made in the treatment of this disease, but new less toxic therapies for high risk ALL are needed. A new effective therapy is chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T) which involves altering a patient’s own cancer fighting cells (T-cells) to express a protein able to recognize a protein on ALL cells (CD19), thus promoting killing of ALL cells. This form of therapy is much less toxic than traditional chemotherapy, but it is still associated with unwanted side effects. Dr. Falcon is working on ways to eliminate anti-CD19 CAR-T if severe side effects occur. This will greatly enhance the safety of this promising treatment. A portion of this grant is generously supported by the Not All Who Wander Are Lost Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund which was named after Kiersten Dickson’s favorite quote from J.R.R. Tolkien and honors the memory of a free spirited, courageous young woman who battled a rare, incurable cancer. This fund hopes to advance cutting edge immunotherapy treatments for pediatric cancers.

Cancer-related pain greatly compromises quality of life, and can increase disease morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs by reducing children's compliance to medical procedures. The burden of cancer-related pain does not end when treatment concludes: many survivors of childhood cancer report cancer-related pain well into adulthood. Thus, there is a critical need for interventions that can reduce pain during and after children's treatments for cancer. Dr. Marusak is testing whether a martial arts therapy that centers around mindful breathing and meditative techniques can reduce pain and the underlying brain mechanisms in young cancer patients and survivors.