“Amelia is an amazing and extremely bright girl who has faced her disease and treatment with tremendous courage,” says Steven DuBois, MD, MS, her oncologist at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
Leukemia is a type of cancer that starts in early forms of white blood cells. White blood cells are cells that typically fight infections.
The revelation brings a surge of hope to the field of pediatric oncology, which has long been challenged to find new drugs against childhood cancers.
Stem cell transplantation, otherwise known as bone marrow transplantation, is the infusion of healthy blood-forming stem cells into a patient to replace or supplement the bone marrow. Stem cell transplants can be used for patients whose stem cells are not healthy, either because of an inherited or acquired problem or as a result of damage … Read more
By Tom Coughlin When a parent hears the gut-wrenching words, “Your child has cancer,” their only thoughts are for the child and how they can get well. Financial concerns are usually not on anyone’s radar. But financial toxicity, as it has been termed, is a reality — especially for approximately one quarter of families tackling … Read more
There are many types of gene therapy, but all of them involve adding to or modifying the genetic program in a person – his or her DNA blueprint that provides instructions for building and operating the body. Gene therapy technology has been developed over several decades and has been successfully used to correct rare blood … Read more
As scientists map ever more of the epigenetic disruptions that occur in cancer, the implications for cancer therapy are becoming increasingly evident.
This originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s blog. Cancer and other diseases are now understood to spring from a complex interplay of biological factors rather than any one isolated origin. New research reveals that an equally-nuanced approach to treating high-risk neuroblastoma may be the most effective way to curb tumor growth. One challenge in … Read more
This post originally appeared on Thriving, Boston Children’s Hospital’s pediatric health blog. On a hot, August day in a Boston park, Jesus Apolinaris Cruz cooled off with a water squirt gun fight with his mother and sister. As he nimbly ran and dodged their aim, he twisted around to sneak shots of water back in their … Read more
Pediatric leukemia is cancer of the blood and develops in the bone marrow. The bone marrow is the soft, spongy center of the long bones that produces the three major blood cells: white blood cells to fight infection; red blood cells that carry oxygen; and platelets that help the blood clot and stop bleeding. When … Read more
This originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s blog. A multi-center clinical trial is now offering nationwide genetic profiling services to pediatric and young adult cancer patients across the U.S. The goal is to identify gene mutations that can be individually matched with targeted drugs. “This is the first-ever nationwide precision medicine clinical trial for … Read more
Harry Clark has faced many academic challenges in his dozen years of brain cancer treatment, but through surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy, one person has always been there to guide and reassure the high school junior and his family on scholastic matters. School psychologist Marybeth Morris, EdM, is one half of a dynamic duo supporting pediatric … Read more
Like many of Dana-Farber’s youngest patients, 3-year-old Hannah Packman brought a favorite plaything to each of her Jimmy Fund Clinic visits. Lulu the doll, however, was unique because of the extra attention she received from pediatric social worker Deborah Berk, LICSW. When Hannah had a blood draw, Berk arranged for Lulu to have one as … Read more
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a type of leukemia in which a group of white blood cells, called lymphocytes, are affected. Leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children, and about 80 percent of children with leukemia have acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy was approved in August 2017 for the … Read more
In their Brookline home-far-away-from-home, 2-year-old Duy Anh “Harry” Le plays with blocks and pop-up toys on the floor with his mother, Thao Nguyen. He is lively and happy, and his skin is clear. He looks almost nothing like the sickly baby covered in eczema who arrived in Boston from his native Vietnam in November 2016 … Read more
There is no greater pain than losing one’s child, but Jessica Horak Stout has derived something positive from her son Ryland’s passing – a teaching moment for medical experts on what it’s like to grieve through a parent’s eyes. Horak Stout co-wrote a book with her father Walter Horak that details the year that Ryland … Read more
This post originally appeared on Thriving, the Boston Children’s Hospital blog. Anna Protsiou was 5 when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2002. She remembers pain, and fruit-scented anesthesia masks that led her to stop eating cherries. She also remembers hospital arts and crafts projects. What she barely remembers is the pediatric oncologist who saved … Read more
Mark W. Kieran, MD, PhD, director of Pediatric Medical Neuro-Oncology at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, spoke to pediatric patient families in a recent Facebook Live Webchat addressing pediatric brain tumor care. Kieran answered questions from audience members about the most common of the 300 brain tumor types that occur in children, including … Read more
In her research studies with young adult survivors of childhood cancers, pediatric oncologist Natasha Frederick, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, explored sexual dysfunction in survivors between the ages of 18 and 30 years old. She found that most of these young survivors reporting such problems keep their concerns from partners, loved ones, and caregivers, and … Read more
Cancer knows no borders, and pediatric patients in low- and middle-income countries often have less access to quality care. The Global Health Initiative at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center exists to change this by improving outcomes and survival rates for children with cancer and blood disorders, regardless of their place of birth. View … Read more