Advancing Childhood Cancer Treatment

St. Baldrick's Joins the 2012 Pediatric Cancer Translational Genomics Conference

The St. Baldrick's Foundation, with other childhood cancer organizations, will be sponsoring the Pediatric Cancer Translational Genomics Conference on February 6-8, 2012. The first of its kind in pediatric solid tumors, the conference will bring together 150 of pediatric oncology's top researchers, clinicians and foundations to share information on genomics research and find ways to implement these methods in childhood cancer research and patient treatment.

“The purpose of this conference is to look at how we can apply a new method in genomics called ‘next generation sequencing’ to pediatric solid tumors,” explains Dr. Javed Khan, Head of the Oncogenomics Section and Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute and a member of the conference’s organizing committee. “Through this technology, we can look for mistakes in the DNA that mutate into cancers. Identifying these mutations will help us develop drugs that prevent the development of cancers.”

The conference is helping advance childhood cancer treatment using a patient’s individual cancer genome to treat their specific type of cancer. “One of our goals is to find more targeted therapies to reduce toxicity in childhood cancer treatment,” states Khan. “Currently, chemotherapy and other treatments cause many serious health risks to kids with cancer. Half of these patients relapse with no cure to their disease.”

In addition to addressing the methods of translational genomics, the conference will also discuss research priorities and how foundations, like St. Baldrick’s, can contribute to children’s cancer research funding. “Pediatric cancer isn’t well-funded. St. Baldrick’s allows us to do cutting-edge science in pediatrics, when there is nothing else available out there,” says Khan. “We’re hoping that this conference will be the first of many to help advance pediatric cancer treatment.”

“The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is honored to be sponsoring this meeting and partnering with other childhood cancer foundations to promote the best possible use of genomics in pediatric cancer research,” shares Liz Jackson, Director of Grants Administration at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and one of the conference’s 38 speakers. “We are excited about the potential for using these new tools to bring about new treatments to give kids fighting cancer longer and healthier lives.”