NEWS & VIEWS

Despite major progress over the past several years, cancer is still the number one cause of death by disease in children past infancy in the developed world. In fact, of the approximately 360,000 children and adolescents across the globe diagnosed with cancer each year, 80% lack access to quality treatments and cures, highlighting the need to establish global networks to improve diagnoses and care. 

Many clinical trials of anti-GD2 antibodies have been conducted, testing the antibodies as both standalone treatments or in combination with other drugs, such as immune-stimulating cytokines. Anti-GD2 antibodies have been approved for maintenance after reaching the first remission and for relapsed or refractory disease.

There are a number of federal and state resources available to help families with limited income cover extra expenses while their child is sick. If your child qualifies for disability, he or she may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, even if already covered by another insurance. 

A sarcoma is a cancer that develops in bone or soft tissue. Soft tissue is the connective tissue between body parts and organs and can include muscles, tendons, fat, bone and cartilage, blood vessels, and lymph vessels. Sarcomas can be found anywhere in the body, but they are most often found in the arms, legs, chest, or abdomen. Pediatric sarcoma is sarcoma occurring in children, and accounts for approximately 15% of pediatric cancer cases, with 1,500 to 1,700 new cases diagnosed each year. 

Neuroblastoma is diagnosed in approximately 800 children in the United States each year. Ninety percent of cases occur in children under five years old, though the average age of diagnosis is between one and two years old. Still, because neuroblastomas form from fetal nerve cells, children as young as newborns can develop tumors, and neuroblastoma accounts for 50% of all cancer cases in infants.

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.