For young cancer patients with rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma, 5-year survival rates are between 20-40%. That’s a statistic that no parent should ever have to hear, and it’s one of the many reasons why CureSearch is on a mission to find a cure for every child diagnosed with cancer.
The Acceleration Initiative was created in 2013 to help find these cures. By investing in the most innovative pediatric cancer research, and offering grants to experts in the field, we are accelerating the search for cures.
One of these experts is Andrew Kung, MD, PhD, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York. He was selected from 33 highly qualified applicants from the US and Canada for the Acceleration Initiative 3 Grand Challenge Award, and was awarded $1.26M for his study titled “Integrative analysis to identify new therapies for pediatric sarcoma.”
The focus of Dr. Kung’s study will be to develop new treatments for high-risk pediatric sarcoma patients that have low 5-year survival rates. They have developed a new approach to match available FDA approved drugs, or to find novel drugs that can be used ultimately to treat sarcoma patients and improve the odds of survival. If the study is successful, Dr. Kung hopes that new treatment options for children with high-risk sarcoma will reach clinical translation within three to five years.
That’s a big deal in the world of children’s cancer research because it usually takes far longer for a drug to reach commercialization. We’ve got our fingers crossed for Dr. Kung and his team, and we can’t wait to see his progress!
Read more about Dr. Kung’s study.
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