Funded Studies

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Mark Kieran, M.D., Ph.D. “Discovering new treatments for Malignant Supratentorial High-Grade Gliomas (HGG) and Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)”

This study consists of developing new target and immune therapies for pediatric gliomas. The drugs to be developed will target tumor cell aberrations including the histone mutation H3.3K27M and abnormalities in the PDGFR, EFGR, and PI3K cell signaling cascades. The drugs will also be screened for their capacities to penetrate the blood-brain barrier using a novel method recently developed at DFCI. This study is meant to provide preclinical models, which can lead to clinical trials of the drugs developed.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Ira Dunkel, M.D. “Enhancing the MSKCC pediatric neuro-oncology developmental therapeutics clinical research program”

The funding allocated to MSKCC will enhance the development and improvement of therapeutic clinical trials for pediatric brain tumor patients. Many of these clinical trials involve recently developed immunotherapies. An example of one of these studies that is currently ongoing (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01502917) explores the efficacy of a radioactively tagged antibody (124-I-8H9) that targets tumor cells. This drug is delivered directly to the tumor through a catheter to ensure its delivery across the blood-brain barrier.