The most detailed analysis yet of the role germline mutations in genes associated with cancer predisposition play in the development of childhood cancer suggests that comprehensive genomic screening may be warranted on all pediatric cancer patients, not just those with a family history of cancer. The study from the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project appears in the November 19 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Ultimately, researchers anticipate that systematic monitoring of patients and family members who have germline mutations in cancer predisposition genes will allow the detection of cancers at their earliest and most curable stage, thereby improving the outcomes for these children and family members.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7692851-st-jude-hospital-genome-project/
In an effort to improve outcomes for patients with some of the deadliest childhood cancers, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have created the world’s largest collection of pediatric solid tumor samples, drug-sensitivity data and related information and have made the resource available at no charge to the global scientific community.
St. Jude and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute collaborated to create the resource, known as the Childhood Solid Tumor Network. The work is reported today as an advance online publication in the scientific journal Nature.
“Survival rates for children with recurrent solid tumors have not improved significantly in more than 20 years and remain below 30 percent,” said corresponding author Michael Dyer, Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. “This research will change that by promoting scientific collaboration to leverage the efforts of researchers worldwide to advance understanding and ultimately treatment of pediatric solid tumors.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8121952-st-jude-childrens-childhood-solid-tumor-network/
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is naming the institution’s principal research tower after Donald Pinkel, M.D., whose legacy of driving progress toward advancing cures for pediatric catastrophic diseases continues at the institution today.
When St. Jude was established 55 years ago, Pinkel, the hospital’s first medical director, committed to finding cures for childhood cancer, leading to groundbreaking treatments that saved countless children’s lives. Many of these cancers were deemed incurable prior to Pinkel’s research, but his distinct approach to eradicating diseases established a model for how cancers could be treated.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7924752-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital-donald-pinkel-tower/
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, providing a national spotlight on an important issue facing a reported one in five kids: bullying. PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, the preeminent bullying prevention charity in the nation, is on a mission to drive social change that ends bullying. The organization works to put important resources in the hands of parents, educators and students alike, working to ensure that bullying is no longer an accepted childhood rite of passage. Today PACER and Clarisonic®, the creator of the #1 most-recommended skin-cleansing device by U.S. dermatologists*, announce a new partnership and campaign designed to drive awareness and raise donations for PACER’s bullying prevention efforts. For every #CleanTheMean social post shared on Facebook or Instagram this year, Clarisonic will donate $1 to PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, up to $100,000.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8191651-clarisonic-pacer-stop-bullying-cleanthemean-campaign/
Cancer takes more children’s lives than any other disease in the U.S., and nearly 25,000 kids will be diagnosed during the month of September alone. As the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is on a mission to take childhood back from cancer by raising critical dollars for lifesaving research and spreading awareness about the harsh realities of childhood cancer.
This September, in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, St. Baldrick’s will show how the research it funds is accelerating the development of new therapies and cures for kids with cancer everywhere. The Foundation will also share stories of kids affected by cancer – kids like David and Hazel who were both diagnosed with neuroblastoma, but faced two different outcomes.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7916553-st-baldricks-childhood-cancer-awareness-month/
