Research

Childhood Cancer Research Outcome in Neuroblastoma

by St. Baldrick's Foundation
March 26, 2012

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Supporters of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation have made a huge difference for kids fighting cancer. Here is one example of how you are helping to save lives.

For many years, doctors had only three ways to treat most cancers: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. A newer weapon in the fight against cancer is immunotherapy – harnessing the power of the immune system to attack cancer cells.

St. Baldrick’s donations helped fund research that has resulted in the first successful immunotherapy for a childhood cancer – high-risk neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system. The average age of diagnosis is two, and it’s rare in children over 10 years old. Most patients have the high-risk form of the disease, and for years, only one in three of these children survived. With this new treatment, almost half may survive!

Last March, Cora Tucker was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of two. From the moment she

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was diagnosed to the time her family received her scan results, Cora’s tumor had spread to contaminate a trace of her bone marrow cells, accelerating her cancer to stage IV. Almost immediately, little Cora was put on the standard treatment of chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and radiation. Then, in December, Cora was enrolled in a clinical trial for immunotherapy treatment.

“Many times I wondered if a cure was possible,” said Candice Tucker, Cora’s mother. “Neuroblastoma doesn’t have great numbers, especially when it comes to children. You want to see 90%, and it’s definitely not that. So, after researching about the immunotherapy treatment and learning that it was increasing cure rates nationwide, we knew that it would be the best option for Cora.”

The treatment, developed by Dr. Alice Yu, a professor of pediatric hematology and oncology at the

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University Of California San Diego, tested the effects of immunotherapy on the relapse rate of neuroblastoma patients.

Immunotherapy boosts the immune system to attack cancer cells by introducing an antibody to fight off cancer. In the case of neuroblastoma, Dr. Yu and her team of researchers introduced an antibody called ch14.18, which targets a molecule on the surface of tumor cells called GD2.

The study has now shown that 66 percent of the patients receiving the immunotherapy became cancer free, compared with 46 percent of those who did not receive the treatment. Because of the positive life-saving results, the study was stopped early and all high-risk neuroblastoma patients were given the option to switch to ch14.18 immunotherapy.

This treatment is currently a phase III clinical trial of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). The St. Baldrick’s Foundation has given more than $33 million to the Children’s Oncology Group, as well as two grants directly to Dr. Yu for this work. “This trial was an important milestone for a terrible disease,” said Yu. “It offers new hope to many patients and families.”

For young Cora, who will be celebrating her one-year anniversary since her diagnosis this week, the treatment has given her the best chance for a cure. “When your child has cancer, your life is just flipped upside-down. What you had before – what you thought your life was – that’s no longer,” shared Candice. “With immunotherapy, Cora’s immune system is now improving. We’re very excited to see Cora back to her regular routine soon, being a normal kid again.”

Cora will be receiving her fifth and final course of immunotherapy next week. In the meantime, this research is continuing, with the help of St. Baldrick’s supporters, and much work is yet to be done.

“Without St. Baldrick’s support, we wouldn’t be able to develop this treatment. It’s a lot of work and requires laboratory staff to process the samples and to do the proper assays to provide answers,” states Yu. “St. Baldrick’s is also helping us with the next steps of our project. To further improve the cure rate, we plan to take the antibody, ch14.18, to the front line of standard treatment and combine it with chemotherapy. Thanks to the donors and volunteers of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, I am optimistic that we will realize this for the future of kids with cancer.”

Photo 1: Cora while receiving therapy, Photo 2: Cora before her diagnosis, Photo 3: Dr. Alice Yu, St. Baldrick’s Grant Recipient.


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