News

What's in a name? For patients, a piece of history

Katie Hayes knew she was going to be seeing her doctor and getting chemotherapy when she came to the Jimmy Fund Clinic one recent morning. What the 10-year-old didn't know was that she was also going to be immortalized in steel.

International Gene Therapy Trial Launched at Children's Hospital Boston for "Bubble Boy" Syndrome

Safer delivery vehicles could advance gene therapy for many genetic diseases

A new, faster route for pediatric clinical trials

Researchers hoping to test promising cancer therapies for children now have an easier way to navigate the forest of funding applications, regulatory rules, hiring procedures, review boards, statistical services, and other logistical requirements.

Williams honored for Outstanding Achievement by ASGCT

Congratulations to David Williams, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and director of Translational Research at Children's, and associate chair of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who has been selected by the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy as the recipient of their 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award.

Justin Bieber Dream Date Shines Light on Rare Pediatric Cancer

Avalanna Routh celebrated Valentine's Day this year with a date for the ages. The six-year-old Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center patient, who has been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor, went on a "dream date" with Justin Bieber, thanks in part to a Facebook campaign to have Routh meet the pop star. As important as the date itself, however, is the attention it has focused on atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, or AT/RT.

American Association for Cancer Research honors D'Andrea

The American Association for Cancer Research presented Alan D. D'Andrea, MD, the Alvan T. and Viola D. Fuller American Cancer Society professor of radiation oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, with the 52nd Annual AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award for his work in understanding cancer survival and progression, which has included milestones such as cloning the erythropoietin receptor and discovering the Fanconi anemia family of proteins involved in maintaining DNA stability.

Key mutations discovered for most common childhood brain cancer

Findings could enable individualized treatment for patients with medulloblastoma Researchers at Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and several collaborating institutions have linked mutations in specific genes to each of the four recognized subtypes of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor of children. The discovery, reported July in the journal Nature, provides doctors with potential biomarkers for guiding and individualizing treatment and reveals prospective therapeutic opportunities for countering this devastating malignancy.

Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center establishes training program with Egypt Cancer Network and Children's Cancer Hospital Egypt

Egypt-based program for physicians from Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center is announcing a partnership with the Egypt Cancer Network and Children's Cancer Hospital Egypt in an effort to improve childhood cancer survival rates and outcomes within Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa. The organizations are collaborating to create an Egypt-based fellowship training program in pediatric oncology for physicians in those regions.

The American Society of Hematology Elects New Leadership

The American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world’s largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders, today announced the election of four new members to its Executive Committee, the governing body of the organization, for terms to begin in January 2013.

Intensified chemotherapy shows promise for children with very high-risk form of leukemia

Young patients with an aggressive form of leukemia who are likely to relapse after chemotherapy treatment can significantly reduce those odds by receiving additional courses of chemotherapy, suggest the findings of a clinical trial led by investigators at Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in Boston.