News & Views

In a landmark in pediatric oncology research, children with high-risk neuroblastoma across Europe and North America will be treated together for the first time, following the award of $1.4M to fund a new transatlantic clinical trial.

Brain and spinal cord tumors, also known as central nervous system (CNS) tumors, are the most common type of solid tumors affecting children. Brain tumors make up about 15% of pediatric cancers, and are the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in children and now, the deadliest type of childhood cancer, ahead of leukemia.

What began as a proposal for a four-center US-based clinical trial of promising combination therapy for children battling brain tumors, has expanded into a large-scale clinical trial at 58 centers in 13 countries, that brings new hope to children across the globe.

The British healthcare system has rejected an FDA/EMA-approved treatment proven to increase survival rates for children with cancer.  NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has rejected access to the drug across the UK, stating cost as the reason.  However, when analyzing the real expense on taxpayers, the cost amounts to less than 3 pence per person, per year, in order to give these children access to the life-saving antibody.

John London, co-founder of SKC, wanted to scream in frustration. After three years of treatment, doctors suggested that him and his wife took his daughter, Penelope, home to enjoy their remaining time together. Instead, John scanned hundreds of research abstracts seeking new treatments.