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Research

Grandparents’ Experiences of Childhood Cancer: A Qualitative Study

A child's cancer diagnosis has a significant impact on the lives of grandparents. Grandparents experience the stress of worrying about both their adult children and their grandchildren. Our study aimed to explore the lived experience of grandparents of children diagnosed with cancer.

Research

Small-molecule screen reveals synergy of cell cycle checkpoint kinase inhibitors with DNA-damaging chemotherapies in medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma (MB) consists of four core molecular subgroups with distinct clinical features and prognoses. Treatment consists of surgery, followed by radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Despite this intensive approach, outcome remains dismal for patients with certain subtypes of MB, namely, MYC-amplified Group 3 and TP53-mutated SHH. Using high-throughput assays, six human MB cell lines were screened against a library of 3208 unique compounds. We identified 45 effective compounds from the screen and found that cell cycle checkpoint kinase (CHK1/2) inhibition synergistically enhanced the cytotoxic activity of clinically used chemotherapeutics cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and gemcitabine.

Research

Imaging of pediatric brain tumors: A COG Diagnostic Imaging Committee/SPR Oncology Committee/ASPNR White Paper

Tumors of the central nervous system are the most common solid malignancies in children and the most common cause of pediatric cancer-related mortality. Imaging plays a central role in diagnosis, staging, treatment planning, and response assessment of pediatric brain tumors.

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RAD51-Mediated DNA Homologous Recombination Is Independent of PTEN Mutational Status

PTEN mutation occurs in a variety of aggressive cancers and is associated with poor patient outcomes. Recent studies have linked mutational loss of PTEN to reduced RAD51 expression and function, a key factor involved in the homologous recombination (HR) pathway. However, these studies remain controversial, as they fail to establish a definitive causal link to RAD51 expression that is PTEN-dependent, while other studies have not been able to recapitulate the relationship between the PTEN expression and the RAD51/HR function.

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A Pre-Clinical Assessment of the Pan-ERBB Inhibitor Dacomitinib in Pediatric and Adult Brain Tumors

Glioblastoma in adults, and medulloblastoma and pineoblastoma that mainly affect children, are aggressive brain tumors.

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Recurrent MET fusion genes represent a drug target in pediatric glioblastoma

We identified previously unidentified gene fusions involving the MET oncogene in pediatric glioblastoma

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Relapse and outcome patterns of patients with central nervous system mixed malignant germ cell tumors treated without irradiation

This study investigates the different patterns of relapse in patients with central nervous system mixed malignant germ cell tumors - treated with chemotherapy.

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The evolution of clinical trials for infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Despite initial improvements in survival of infants with ALL since establishment of the first pediatric cooperative group ALL trials, the poor outcome has...

Research

Glioma-specific Domain IV EGFR cysteine mutations promote ligand-induced covalent receptor dimerization and display enhanced sensitivity

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is over-expressed in many brain tumors. This paper examines mutations the EGFR that make the cell it is produced in...

Research

Relapse and outcome patterns of patients with central nervous system mixed malignant germ cell tumors treated without irradiation

This study investigated the relapse and outcome patterns of patients with central nervous system mixed malignant germ cell tumors treated with chemotherapy-only