An innovative breakthrough in pediatric cancer diagnosis is unveiled at the Nicholas Zoe Foundation’s inaugural fundraising event in Miami.
The latest research sheds light on the use of genomic profiling as a tool for predicting the prognosis of and improving treatment for children with cancer. pediatric cancer fundraising non-profit
MIAMI, FLORIDA, MARCH 15, 2024 – The Nicholas Zoe Foundation announced last night at its inaugural event a novel development in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer. Recent research demonstrates that a “liquid biopsy” test that fingerprints minute amounts of tumor DNA in a patient’s blood can guide the treatment of common, lethal pediatric solid tumors, such as Ewing Sarcoma, Neuroblastoma, and Rhabdomyosarcoma. The findings were presented by Boston Children’s Hospital Pathologist-in-Chief, Dr. Mark Fleming, who showcased the latest innovations at one of the top pediatric institutions in the nation leading the fight against pediatric cancer.
This event also marks the launch of the Nicholas Zoe Foundation, which is dedicated to the remembrance of Nicholas Artemiou and advocates for pediatric sarcoma and solid tumor patients by funding research and fostering awareness about these diseases.
Alexia Potamitou, mother of Nicholas, and president of the Nicolas Zoe Foundation said: “We want to foster steps beyond the results of the study by facilitating the development of a simple clinical blood test that could result in faster diagnoses and the ability to know if treatment is working at any stage in a patient’s treatment as well as monitor for recurrent disease. ”
Previously, doctors at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center have used related clinical-grade tests in real-time clinical settings for children, teens, and young adults with a variety of solid tumors. They have shown that molecular tumor profiling can deliver actionable results in 70% of patients, a big step forward for personalized cancer care.
The study leaders, Alanna Church, MD, associate director of the Laboratory at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, Laura Corson Ph.D., and Katherine A. Janeway, MD, MMSc, director of Clinical Genomics at Dana-Farber and Boston Children’s, combined two clinical-grade tests: one that is called OncoPanel -that was primarily developed for adult cancer but incorporated input from Janeway, Church, and other pediatric oncologists and pathologists- and an RNA sequencing test that Church and her colleagues have developed for pediatric brain and solid tumors and whose aim is looking for gene fusions, which are the main drivers of pediatric cancers.
The results of the findings, which were published in Nature Medicine, indicate that 345 patients ages 30 and younger from 12 different institutions underwent genomic testing. All of them have relapsed, refractory, or high-risk extracranial solid tumors. Among them, they had tumors Overall, 298 patients (86%) had genetic alterations with the potential to influence their treatments, and in 240 (70%), the tumor’s genetic profile could be used to choose a targeted therapy for the disease. Oncologists used precise therapies for 29 patients, and seven of them had a significant response.
In addition, 209 patients (61%) had diagnostically useful findings, 56 (16%) had findings that changed their prognosis, and in 17 cases, the identified alterations clarified the patient’s diagnosis.
Dr. Mark Fleming said, “This study is the most comprehensive in terms of showing that treatment selection based on genomic profiling is possible when it comes to pediatric solid tumors. With the help of the Nicholas Zoe Foundation, we aim to extend this diagnostic technology to the ongoing care and monitoring of pediatric solid tumor patients, regardless of their specific diagnosis or location of treatment. Importantly, this testing will spare the patient and family invasive biopsies and extensive radiological imaging procedures, by relying on a blood sample”
At this stage, the Nicholas Zoe Foundation is in the process of raising funds for the continuation of this research. This organization was created with the sense of mission that Nicholas Artemiou had: that no other kid should go through the pain he experienced.
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