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 patients who completed kindergarten during their treatment for pediatric cancers celebrated at a graduation ceremony.
For the 10th straight year, St. Jude honored 14 patients from around the United States who completed kindergarten while battling life-threatening illnesses like leukemia and brain tumors. Dozens of families and St. Jude doctors, nurses, and staff cheered for the young students, who completed kindergarten in the St. Jude School Program by Chili’s.
Each year, the school program commemorates students who have completed kindergarten coursework with a special ceremony. The children present a song for the families and St. Jude staff, receive their diplomas and celebrate the milestone with their fellow students.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7924755-st-jude-celebrates-kindergarten-graduation/
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® officials and guests today marked the opening of the St. Jude Red Frog Events Proton Therapy Center, the first proton therapy center in the world dedicated solely to children with cancer.
Patients are now being treated at the center using precisely delivered, high-energy particles called protons to kill or shrink tumors while minimizing damage to healthy tissue and organs. For patients with brain tumors and certain other cancers, research suggests proton beam therapy may be more effective than conventional radiation at preventing the growth and spread of tumors while reducing the risk of treatment-related side effects.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7713451-st-jude-proton-therapy-opening/
A Firefly is lighting up operating rooms, making it easier for robotic surgeons to remove tumors. However, this Firefly is not the type that children catch in a jar during warm summer evenings. Instead, it’s a technology that uses a wavelength of light not visible to the human eye. A special dye is then injected which causes a bright green fluorescence of certain tissues, hence the name “Firefly.” This green glow lets surgeons clearly see the difference between cancerous and healthy tissue when performing surgery, allowing them to remove the tumor while saving the rest of the healthy organ.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7342452-firefly-lighting-operating-rooms/
Until recently, cancer patients looking for the most precise form of proton radiation therapy – “pencil-beam scanning” – had to narrow their search to about a half dozen centers in the United States that offer this treatment on a limited basis.
Today’s opening of the Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego, Calif., marks the first time that a proton center in the United States is treating patients exclusively with this ultra-accurate technology, in every treatment room.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/65691-scripps-proton-therapy-center-san-diego-precise-cancer-care
Nearly 90 percent of children and adults with a highly aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) showed no evidence of cancer after receiving a novel, personalized cell therapy that reprograms a patient’s immune system. In pilot studies of bioengineered T cells that attack leukemia, 24 of 27 patients (89%) experienced complete responses within 28 days after treatment. In all, 27 patients received the treatment--22 children treated at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and five adults treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64394-chop-penn-harness-engineered-t-cells-eliminate-tumors-in-blood-leukemia
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is launching a new series of public service announcements (PSAs) to help raise awareness and deepen the understanding of the hospital’s lifesaving mission through real St. Jude heroes – its patients and families. St. Jude has not produced national PSAs since 2003 and timed this new multichannel campaign to coincide with the hospital’s 50th anniversary.
The PSAs share St. Jude moments through patients and families like 10-year-old Angiel. Angiel and her mom Damaris were planning a trip to Africa for a family reunion when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that produced tumors in both of Angiel’s legs. Today, thanks to St. Jude doctors, Angiel can still look forward to visiting family in a foreign land one day. Angiel’s story is just one of several patients featured in the PSAs.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/stjude/46749/
Children’s Medical Center Dallas (Children’s) http://childrens.com is launching a critical stroke initiative to diagnose and treat strokes in children. Pediatric strokes is a little-known condition that occurs as often as leukemia and brain tumors but often is not recognized by parents or physicians, despite the serious short- and long-term health consequences. As part of this effort, Children’s will be one of four research sites in North America participating in this groundbreaking research.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/childrens/48624/
