Coming of Age: New Research Efforts are Improving Treatment of Childhood Blood Cancers – Curetoday.com

Over Mothers Day weekend 2011, Kimberly Schuetz took her 2-year-old son on a road trip from their hometown of Fall River, Wisconsin, to visit family in Illinois. Leading up to the journey, Austin had been his normal, energetic self.

He was eating like a horse and being very active, very playful. No sicknesses, fevers, or anything like that, Schuetz says.

On Saturday, Schuetzs father-in-law noticed something alarming while tickling his grandson. One of Austins lymph nodes on his neck had swollen to the size of a golf ball. As an oncology nurse, Schuetz immediately had a sick feeling in her stomach. Her mind went straight to thoughts of cancer.

While her gut reaction told her to take Austin to the emergency department, Schuetz decided to wait until Monday to visit his pediatrician back home. After all, her son was acting fine.

A week later, after visits to two pediatricians, the emergency department at their local hospital and pediatric hematologists at a childrens hospital, a bone marrow biopsy confirmed that Austin had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A cancer of the blood and bone marrow, ALL is the most common type of cancer that occurs in children.

I literally felt like I was living somebody elses life, like I was watching a movie. I remember sitting there and listening to the doctor, but I also felt like I was floating above myself, Schuetz says. I was numb and couldnt cry. Your brain just goes into this state of shock.

Omar Durani, a family physician in Dallas, Texas, went through similar feelings when his 9-month-old daughter Kenza received an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosis. In 2016, her swollen lymph nodes signaled to Durani and his wife that something wasnt right.

As a physician and dad, its kind of difficult to figure out what hat to wear when, and how much to worry about things like that, he says. When the swelling worsened, we started advocating for blood work, but all the doctors we visited only kept giving her antibiotics.

Finally, an emergency department physician who Durani knew personally listened to their concerns and performed blood testing. The results came back with white cell counts through the roof, confirming the familys worst fears: Kenza had cancer.

Both ALL and AML are treated initially with chemotherapy, and for the vast majority of children, it works. More than 95% of children with ALL and about 85% to 90% of those with AML enter remission after the first phase of chemotherapy. However, remission does not necessarily mean a cure.

Austin relapsed in October 2012 after two phases of chemotherapy, and despite receiving a bone marrow transplant, his ALL came back a third time in May 2013. About 10% to 20% of children with ALL have a disease that relapses or is resistant to treatment. At that point, with no treatment options left, Austins parents were told he had three to six months to live.

We live 45 minutes away from the hospital, and our doctor ended up driving to our house, not to offer any solutions, because we didnt have a plan, but just to sit and cry with us, because she was so heartbroken and, in such disbelief, Schuetz says.

Some cancer in children does not respond to chemotherapy. After three rounds of chemotherapy, doctors told Durani that his daughters only hope would be a bone marrow transplant. But as a child of Asian descent and mixed ethnic background, Kenza had a less than 2% chance of finding a bone marrow donor match.

While research in adult blood cancers has led to an explosion of new targeted therapies and immunotherapies, such progress has been slower for younger patients. This can leave children such as Austin and Kenza without a path forward. Even for patients who do achieve long-term survival, the lingering toxicity of chemotherapy can lower their quality of life as adults.

Only four cancer treatments have been approved for first use in children in the last 40 years, compared with hundreds approved for treating adults during this same time frame, said Dr. Gwen Nichols, chief medical officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Out of all the federal funding that goes into cancer research, only 4% goes toward pediatric cancer research, said Dr. Deepa Bhojwani, director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Program

at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in California. That being said, I would say within the last five to 10 years, there has been a lot more progress in terms of targeted treatment and immunotherapy than there was in the past.

But the tide may be turning for this young, vulnerable population with new research initiatives dedicated to applying precision medicine to pediatric blood cancers. Much of todays research in pediatric blood cancers aims to find tailored alternatives to chemotherapy that could prove just as or more effective with fewer harmful side effects.

Cancer is still the leading cause of death from disease among children and adolescents in the United States. From 2012 to 2016, leukemia and lymphoma accounted for 38.7% of all cancer types for patients under age 20. Approximately 40% of children with AML and 20% of those with ALL experience a relapse of their disease. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the most common type of lymphoma in children under age 14, that is resistant to first-line therapy has a very poor prognosis.

Before joining LLS, Nichols worked for a pharmaceutical company. She says that getting pediatric drugs tested and approved may be difficult because they typically do not bring in as much revenue as adult therapies.

As a result, upon arriving at LLS she was determined to figure out a faster, more efficient way to bring new agents and therapies to children with blood cancers.

In 2016, LLS launched the Beat AML Master Trial for adults with AML. It represented a paradigm shift in the format of clinical trials by testing several different targeted therapies in individual study arms instead of only one drug or combination of drugs at a time. Patients had a genomic screening to determine whether they had one of the genetic mutations that would make them eligible for one of the study arms to test a particular targeted therapy.

Its about 50% less expensive to do a master trial than it is to do one drug at a time. So, we needed to do something similar in pediatrics to make it more cost-efficient. But even more than that, if you want to get targeted therapies to kids, you have to have the right kids to test the drug, Nichols said. If youre doing one drug at a time, you have to screen thousands of kids to find the five that fit your drug, which costs time and money.

In 2019, LLS announced a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the Childrens Oncology Group called LLS PedAL (Pediatric Acute Leukemia), a global precision medicine master clinical trial in the same vein as the Beat AML trial. Children with relapsed acute leukemia will undergo genomic screening to match the specific abnormalities driving their cancer with one of several targeted therapies.

As part of The LLS Childrens Initiative: Cures and Care for Children, a $100 million, multiyear effort to take on pediatric blood cancers, LLS PedAL will test multiple agents simultaneously at up to 200 sites worldwide. Trials will follow the same format so that data from multiple institutions can be shared and consolidated.

Nichols and her colleagues hoped to begin the trial this year, but with the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, LLS PedALs start date has been pushed back to early 2021.

Another inspiring research project is the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP), a joint initiative from St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Since 2010, the two insti- tutions have pioneered efforts to define the genomic landscape of pediatric cancer by sequencing the genomes of normal and cancer cells from 800 patients.

That work really filled in much of the landscape of mutations that drive ALL, AML and many of the other kinds of pediatric cancer, says Dr. James R. Downing, president and CEO of St. Jude, who was instrumental in launching the PCGP. In particular, important fundamental discoveries came out for ALL in terms of new understandings related to the identification of new genetic subtypes, amplifications, fusions and chromosomal translocations of the disease.

For instance, the PCGP pinpointed genes linked to an ALL subtype with a poor prognosis known as Philadelphia chromosome-like ALL (Ph-like ALL). In 2009, St. Jude scientists were among the first to describe Ph-like ALL in children. Five years later, next-generation sequencing revealed the genetic alterations that give rise to Ph-like ALL, which could be targeted with drugs widely used to treat other types of leukemia more common in adults.

A 2017 study from the PCGP identified potential targets for immunotherapies in pediatric cancers, finding that 88% of leukemias have at least one that could be exploited. A 2018 pan-cancer analysis that examined commonalities and differences among various cancer types, including ALL and AML, suggest that half of the cancers studied may have a targeted treatment available or under development.

The second phase of the genome project is moving all that technology into frontline diagnostics, Downing says. So now were getting the whole genome, whole exome and RNA sequencing of every patient, and we gain insight that can be funneled into a protocol that allows them to be treated.

St. Judes frontline ALL protocol includes an unparalleled level of genomic sequencing on the patient, on both cancer and normal cells, which allows physicians to make personalized therapeutic decisions. Downing hopes that collecting such a wealth of data will help usher in new therapies and lead to a further improvement in outcomes.

So the momentum is there, the studies are ongoing, and hopefully five years from now, we will have a huge variety of therapies to offer our kids instead of just one, Bhojwani says.

Bhojwani participates in the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia & Lymphoma (TACL) consortium, which has its headquarters at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. TACL brings together childrens hospitals and universities to accelerate the progress of new therapies for pediatric leukemia and lymphoma. The consortium includes 31 institutions in the United States and Australia that collaborate on clinical trials of new drugs and novel therapy combinations in the hopes of expanding the number of treatments available.

Both Kenza and Austin were saved by an experimental treatment called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy administered in a clinical trial. It involves engineering the bodys T cells, a type of white blood cell, to produce receptors on their surface called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). The engineered cells are infused back into the patient, where they can recognize and kill cancer cells.

The Duranis couldnt find a bone marrow donor match for Kenza, despite having more than 60 donor drives inspired by her diagnosis that registered more than 5,000 new potential bone marrow donors around the country. At that point, they decided to move forward with CAR-T cell therapy coupled with a haploidentical, or partially matched, stem cell transplant in August 2016.

It was a no-brainer for us since there were no other therapies available besides a standard bone marrow transplant, Durani says. Now Kenzas been in remission for four years, and shes doing fantastic. Shes a thriving, spunky 5-year-old.

After his third relapse, Austins parents enrolled him in a clinical trial to receive CAR-T cell therapy as a last- ditch effort to save their son. He received the treatment at the beginning of October, and on Halloween which also happens to be his mothers birthday they received the good news that his biopsy showed no traces of cancer.

I immediately started screaming and crying. I was just elated. It was the best birthday present that I could ever, ever have. Nothing will ever top that, Schuetz says.

Today, Austin is a typical 12-year-old boy who enjoys video games, swimming with his friends and complaining about household chores. He and Kenza are living proof that innovations such as CAR-T cell therapy give children who have run out of options another chance at life.

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World Rose Day 2020: History and significance of the welfare of cancer patients – Hindustan Times

World Rose Day is annually celebrated on September 22 in dedication to the welfare of cancer patients. (Pixabay)

World Rose Day is annually celebrated on September 22 in dedication to the welfare of cancer patients. On this day, people around the world work towards bringing cheer and hope into the lives of all those people who have been affected by cancer. More importantly, it seeks to remind patients and their caregivers, that they are not alone in this battle against the deadly disease.

Cancer treatments are quite tasking on the body and mind of those who have been affected. With the changes their bodies encounter and the sheer mental trauma of being ravaged by this disease can wreak havoc with most people. According to Dr. Ganapathi Bhat, Consultant Medical Oncologist and Stem cell Transplant Physician at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, The financial costs associated with cancer are often overwhelming. Cancer affects a persons diet and eating habits in many ways. The illness can in itself cause weight loss, lack of appetite or other problems associated with eating. Cancer also often affects your self-image and self-esteem. Possible changes in physical appearance and depleted health can be frightening. Having cancer can undermine your mental and physical wellbeing. But by making even the simplest gestures of kindness, each and every one of us can bring some comfort to their lives. Even though that alone is not enough to cure them, it can certainly ease their suffering.

World Rose Day for the Welfare of Cancer Patients was first observed in honour of 12-year-old Melinda Rose from Canada, who was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer known as Askins Tumour. Even while the doctors had only given her weeks to live, she went on to live for 6 months and spent her time bringing joy and hope to all the diagnosed people around her. She reached out to all the cancer patients, sharing poems, letters and emails with them, to bring some cheer into their lives. Her kindness and optimism serve as a reminder to us all, that even in the most bleak of all situations, hope is what keeps us going.

By offering roses to cancer patients and their caregivers, people extend their concern and offer tenderness in the face of this harsh disease. Unfortunately, the medical and science fields are yet to come up with an absolute cure for cancer, despite their constant dedication to this cause, we can all contribute in our own way by being mindful of their suffering and ensuring that we care for them and contribute to their strength so that they may continue fighting.

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Guide to Voting on Propositions and the City of San Bernardino’s Measure S – Black Voice News

Local Measure

San Bernardino Measure S

NO on Measure S in San Bernardino: It would raise taxes so the mayor can pay for sexual harassment lawsuits and give tax dollars to employees who work for the city but do not live in the city. Currently only 10% of the employees working for the city are Black and only 5% work in the police department. Only 8% of the sworn police officers live in the city and the city has never hired a Black as chief of police in 115 years. Blacks make up 13.8% of the city population and pay taxes.

Propositions

Proposition 14

NO on Prop 14: Taxpayers will be on the hook for $5.5 billion in bonds aimed at reviving the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), a program created in 2004 to boost stem cell research.

Proposition 15

NO on Prop 15: It would leave Californias Prop13 tax rules unchanged, which is a benefit to older Black homeowners. Small businesses will see their rents increase. This will hurt in the long run and the County Assessors offices up and down the state said it is unworkable.

Proposition 16

YES on Prop 16: It would be a giant step to help undo the results of long-standing institutionalized race and gender discrimination that have been key to economic and social inequality. This would put California back in step with Federal Laws governing Equal Opportunity in Employment, access to educational institutions of higher learning and provide fair access to government contracts for women and minority owned businesses.

Proposition 17

YES on Prop 17: It would make it legal for people who have paid their debt to society to vote while on parole for a felony conviction.

Proposition 18

YES on Prop 18: It would make it legal for people who will turn 18 in time for the general election to vote, even while still 17, at the time of that years primary.

Proposition 19

NO on Prop 19: Currently, a parent or grandparent can bestow their low tax rate while passing on a rental home or vacation property. This feature would be eliminated under Prop 19.

Proposition 20

NO on Prop 20: This initiative is being bankrolled by the states prison guards union and they are trying to keep the prisons full to protect their jobs. Plus, it will be unjust to Blacks and Hispanic people by adding stiffer penalties for those who violate the terms of their parole three times and require DNA samples be taken from people convicted of misdemeanors.

Proposition 21

NO on Prop 21: Some say it could make a dent in homelessness, a problem that is a crisis in our community. However, rent control does not work as some have learned and a rent board would be in charge of the owners property.

Proposition 22

YES on Prop 22: This initiative is about independent thinking people who use their own cars and cell phones to work when they want to, depending on their personal life situation. A yes vote will provide new benefits such as healthcare and a minimum wage. Plus, we have a lot of Black people who love working for themselves.

Proposition 23

NO on Prop 23: This legislation would require at least one physician to be on site at an operating dialysis clinic adding more expense to those who need the service. There are not enough doctors to do this work and the cost would eliminate many clinics in Black and Brown communities.

Proposition 24

NO on Prop 24: This measure would expand and add to Californias two-year-old law on consumer data privacy and create another layer to an already confusing system.

Proposition 25

NO on Prop 25: This is a risk assessment system that would replace cash bail and is biased because it uses a computer program that is inflexible to human special needs in this special time of need.

Hardy Brown Sr. is Publisher Emeritus of the Black Voice News.

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Guide to Voting on Propositions and the City of San Bernardino's Measure S - Black Voice News

Blood Cancer Awareness Month 2020 – Everyday Health

Professional conferences and meetings offer an opportunity for doctors, researchers, and pharmaceutical professionals to share the latest research and findings on blood cancer. Like some of the runs and walks, many conferences have been postponed or moved to a virtual setting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upcoming conferences and meetings include:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society held its 2020 National Blood Cancer Conference virtually on September 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. EDT. The educational event will be open to caregivers, patients, survivors, and family members of those affected, and review treatment options, emerging therapies, and resources provided by LLS.

LSS will hold its virtual conferences on September 26 hosted by the organizations Georgia/South Carolina region and October 3, hosted by LSSs Metro New York region. Additionally, LLS will host more virtual conferences throughout October and November.

The ASH will hold it's virtual meeting December 5-8 and is the largest conference on blood-related illnesses in the world.

RELATED: New Study Sheds Light on Genetic Differences in Types of Lymphoma

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CARLTON FLETCHER: McConnell is the poster boy for sleazy, partisan politics – The Albany Herald

Oh ... How do you sleep at night?

Ive often complained that I dont understand politics or politicians, but the truth is, I dont really want to.

I dont know what it is that makes men and women who say they want to run for office to help make their country, state, county, city a better place and then find themselves sucked into the madness that is American politics. Its a vocation that takes pretty much decent human beings and turns them into lying, cheating, double-talking cretins who make used car salesmen (no offense) look like followers of Mother Teresa.

Ive found it amazing over the years that politicians the ones who settle in for the long haul, pulling their chairs up to the pork, PAC and lobbyist troughs and just digging in like the pigs and gluttons they become think the American people are so stupid they actually believe their double-talk and bull----. By the same token, however, why would they think otherwise? The American people, who get an up-close, first-hand view of their shenanigans, keep sending them back to Washington, Atlanta, and local government agencies with hardly a second thought.

What? My elected representatives at the highest level cashed in certain stocks and bought up others after they attended a meeting that gave them advance warning of the possible impact of the coronavirus pandemic? Well, thats just good business. What, the businessman we put in the highest office in the land filed 13 bankruptcies and cheated both the American taxpayer and businesses he owed out of millions of dollars? That just shows hes got down the art of the deal, baby.

Did you say the person who wants to be president has changed his mind on important issues depending on which way the wind is blowing on a particular day so many times that he doesnt even know where he stands on those issues? Thats called playing to your base. Everyone does it.

I think Ive made it clear over the years my disdain for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. From his opposing stem cell research because the extreme right of his party opposed doctors and scientists playing God ... until someone in his family benefited from the science, to proclaiming that the entire Republican party should focus all of its efforts on making sure Barack Obama did not get a second term in office ON THE NIGHT HE WAS ELECTED, McConnell is the poster boy for lousy, self-serving, partisan politics at its worst.

As majority leader of the Senate, McConnell has spent the last 12 years the eight years that Obama was president and the four that Donald Trump has held that office doing nothing but putting conservative judges in office. McConnell conceded that the Democratic-controlled House would not go along with his right-wing agenda, so he has had the Senate do nothing but vote on judges over the last decade-plus. Other than hold a time-wasting impeachment trial that a group of power-tripping and wrong-headed Democrats dreamed up in the House, McConnell has proved to be the epitome of all that is wrong in American politics.

But the turtle man has outdone himself in his hypocritical call to replace recently passed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before her body was even cool following her death from cancer. Wasnt it McConnell, you might ask, who led the charge to keep an Obama Supreme Court nominee from taking a seat on the high court at the end of his tenure in the White House? Yes, but see, McConnell has an answer to such charges of blatant hypocrisy and just out-right lying. He says that when Obama, a Democrat, was in office, the Senate was controlled by Republicans, so there were obvious philosophical differences. Now, with a Republican in the White House and a Republican Senate, he says, its OK.

Meaning? More political blather and bull----.

McConnell has long since proved himself a shameful self-serving opportunist whose traitorous actions in a better time would have landed him in prison or out of the government on his duff. With his disregard for Ginsburgs service, he has also shown himself to be the only passably human ghoul that only the lowest of the low aspire to. The people of Kentucky must be proud ... as they send him back to the trough to misuse and misappropriate more of our hard-earned money.

Email Carlton Fletcher at carlton.fletcher@ albanyherald.com.

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CARLTON FLETCHER: McConnell is the poster boy for sleazy, partisan politics - The Albany Herald