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The recent development of therapies that stimulate the immune system to eliminate cancer has transformed treatment options for many patients. However, these therapies have generally been less successful in treating childhood cancers, in part because cancers in younger patients typically have acquired fewer of the genetic alterations that can be recognized by T cells, the immune cell type most commonly used for cancer treatment. This project aims to harness the cancer clearing functions of macrophages, a distinct immune cell type that can recognize and kill even those cancer cells that carry few genetic alterations. Dr. Kamber and colleagues will focus on identifying strategies that unleash macrophage anti-cancer functions in the context of Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive form of lymphoma that is among the most common types of cancer in children.

This grant is funded by and named for Jack's Pack - We Still Have His Back, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund. Jack Klein was a ten year old who loved life, laughing and monkeys. During his illness, his community of family and friends near and far rallied around him under the moniker "Jack's Pack". Their slogan was "We have Jack's Back". After Jack succumbed to Burkitt's Lymphoma, his "pack" focused their energy and efforts to funding a cure...just as Jack would have wanted.