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The Cancer Immunology team at The Kids is investigating how the body's 'natural killer' cells can be harnessed to fight cancer – whilst also protecting kids from nasty chemotherapy side effects.
Three The Kids researchers are collaborating on a cancer research project that has been awarded a $1.75mill grant by the Australian Cancer Research Fund.
Ethan was not even two when he was diagnosed with a rare type of brain tumour known as an ependymoma.
A global plan to tackle one of the most aggressive types of childhood brain tumours will be developed as a result of a meeting of international experts in WA.
Copy number alterations (CNAs), resulting from the gain or loss of genetic material from as little as 50 base pairs or as big as entire chromosome(s), have been associated with many congenital diseases, de novo syndromes and cancer. It is established that CNAs disturb the dosage of genomic regions including enhancers/promoters, long non-coding RNA and gene(s) among others, ultimately leading to an altered balance of key cellular functions.
Event-free survival considers other adverse events in addition to mortality. It therefore provides a more complete understanding of the effectiveness and consequences of treatment than standard survival measures, but is rarely reported at the population level for childhood cancer.
Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at increased risk of developing haematological malignancies, in particular acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The microenvironment established by abnormal haematopoiesis driven by trisomy 21 is compounded by additional genetic and epigenetic changes that can drive leukaemogenesis in patients with DS.
The vascular endothelial growth factors and their receptors are key regulators of blood vessel formation, including in tumors, where their deregulated function can promote the production of aberrant, leaky blood vessels, supporting tumor development.
Reports of a rise in childhood cancer incidence in Australia and globally prompted the investigation of cancer incidence and survival in South Australia and the Northern Territory over a 28-year period, with emphasis on Indigenous peoples.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common childhood malignancy that remains a leading cause of death in childhood. It may be characterised by multiple known recurrent genetic aberrations that inform prognosis, the most common being hyperdiploidy.