Updates from around the lab – featuring Andy

Here at cc-TDI, we all share one mission – to make all childhood cancers survivable, regardless of the diagnosis. With this mission in place, it helps us give our best every day.

 

Without further ado, we’d love to share some of Andy’s recent progress as he continues to work on Wilms’ Tumor:

 

Wilms’ tumor is the most common kidney cancer discovered in children, and although its management has been a resounding success – over 90% of children diagnosed with Wilms’ tumor will be cured with a standard therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments – there is another side to the story. About 8% of children with Wilms’ tumor are diagnosed with a high-risk disease, which does not respond well to standard therapies. In line with our mission – to make all childhood cancers universally survivable – cc-TDI has an active research study on anaplastic Wilms’ tumor patients. Our goal is to find and validate a drug combination that will be more effective for the high-risk patients.

 

Although the study is still a work in progress, we’ve gathered functional data on a large collection of Wilms’ tumor study resources, which have been tested against multiple compounds known to prevent cancer cell growth in a variety of ways. Our study will combine the drug screen results, known biological targets and both RNA and DNA sequencing to develop new targets with increased efficacy.

 

Side note from Andy: I became interested in pediatric cancer research due to my family’s personal experience with childhood cancer. My oldest daughter, Stellablue, is a survivor of anaplastic Wilms’ tumor. I am eternally grateful to Dr. Charles Keller and the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute for allowing me the opportunity to make a mid-life career transition into cancer research. It is an incredible honor to be studying Wilms’ tumor in the lab, and working on the development of more-effective and less-toxic treatments for children like my daughter.

 

We thank Andy for his great work – Andy’s passion and determination is contagious around the lab – with his unique perspective and unrelenting drive, it sets the tone across the board.

 

The 2018 Nanocourse is open for registration, and the event fills up fast. The Nanocourse will take place between August 20th and 24th, 2018.  If you’re interested in participating, sign up here. Remember, this event is all about you. We’d love to hear your requests of cancer-type topics. Let us hear it on Facebook!

 

Although the team brings passion and creativity with them to the lab each and every day, we cannot do this alone. Please consider donating what you can – every dollar brings us closer to our mission of stomping out childhood cancer.

 

That’s all from cc-TDI this week – have a great weekend!


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