For families facing high-grade glioma (HGG), the deadliest childhood brain cancer, the diagnosis often feels like a storm: dark, fast, and overwhelming. Treatments are limited, harmful, and too often ineffective. For more than 40 years, progress has been slow, treatments have remained painfully toxic, and children have borne the weight of a system that simply did not have the tools, data, or alignment it needed to change the forecast.

But this moment is different. And for the first time ever, thanks to the influence, funding, and relentless advocacy of Bridge To A Cure Foundation, the entire pediatric brain tumor community is coming together behind a series of unified goals:

• Drive shared data collection, access, and harmonization
• Cure high-grade glioma
• Pursue non-toxic treatments
• Leverage the full power of data and AI to get there faster

This is the culmination of the Bridge To A Cure mission from day one: to unite and transform the childhood cancer community’s approach to research with the goal of cutting the childhood cancer death rate by 50% by 2030.

Why HGG Has Been So Hard to Cure — and Why That’s Changing

High-grade glioma moves quickly. It infiltrates healthy brain tissue, resists nearly all available therapies, and evolves fast enough to outrun scientific understanding. For years, researchers lacked the visibility needed to track the disease’s behavior, not because they lacked dedication, but because they lacked something fundamental: shared, high-quality data.

Each hospital held only a few cases. Each research center saw only fragments. As a result, discovery moved slowly, and families waited under a sky that didn’t seem to clear.

Thanks to the combined momentum of our foundation’s advocacy and the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN), that reality has shifted. And by bringing dozens of childhood cancer foundations and more than 35 pediatric institutions together and uniting their data, imaging, biospecimens, and expertise, CBTN has created the largest collaborative pediatric brain cancer community in the world, and with it, new clarity, new insights, and new momentum.

This shared ecosystem has set the stage for something once unimaginable: real insight, real collaboration, and real possibility.

The BTAC–CBTN Partnership: Preparing 900 Datasets for a Brighter Future

Among the most extraordinary achievements of our network is the contribution made by 900 children with HGG, whose families shared clinical records, imaging, and tumor data in the hope that no other family would weather the storm alone.

To honor their courage, Bridge To A Cure Foundation is funding the work needed to prepare these 900 datasets to FDA gold-standard quality, the essential step for:

• powering new AI-driven research,
• supporting regulatory submissions,
• designing smarter, safer clinical trials, and
• moving toward less-toxic treatments that protect childhood.

This work turns raw information into a stable foundation where new discoveries can finally take root.

Bridge To A Cure is committed to completing the HGG dataset validation within a single year—an ambitious yet essential goal. By the end of 2026, this data will fully power the RADIANT AI pediatric research platform, enabling scientists to detect patterns no human eye could see and accelerating the development of safer, more effective therapies children urgently need.

A Gathering of Leaders: The SU2C High-Grade Glioma Summit

This January marks a pivotal shift. Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will host the first-ever national pediatric High-Grade Glioma Summit, bringing together leaders in oncology, genomics, AI, and clinical innovation.

This transformative Summit reflects the growing momentum across the entire field, shaped in part by years of Bridge To A Cure’s advocacy, coalition-building, and insistence that the community align around curing pediatric glioblastoma. The call for unity, shared data, and non-toxic treatments, championed consistently by Bridge To A Cure, helped create the conditions for a gathering of this scale to become a national priority. Summit attendees will come together, in person, to meet around these shared goals and collaborate on ways to achieve them.

Bridge To A Cure President Robert (Bob) Martin has been invited to join as a panelist, representing:

• the voice of families,
• the need for scientific collaboration,
• the promise of data-driven research, and
• the urgency of developing non-toxic treatments.

Bob’s leadership ensures the movement to cure HGG remains centered on the children who need it most and the families who have already endured far too many storms.

2026: A Break in the Clouds

Across childhood brain cancer research, the weather pattern is changing:

• Data is no longer siloed.
• Scientists are no longer working alone.
• AI is no longer a distant promise — it’s becoming a real tool.
• Families’ contributions are finally being honored through action.
• Institutions are aligning under shared momentum.

These are rays of light that are bursting through years of cloudy progress. And as the validated HGG dataset comes online in 2026, paired with Radiant AI insights and guided by collaborations strengthened through the SU2C summit, we approach a horizon that has remained out of reach for far too long: the possibility of safer, smarter, more effective treatments for children with high-grade glioma.

How You Can Help

Preparing the HGG dataset is not optional. It’s the foundational step that makes every discovery possible. And now, thanks to a $50,000 matching gift from a generous anonymous donor, every gift through December 31 is doubled.

This funding drives a new dawn for kids with cancer through:

• FDA-grade data validation
• AI-enabled research through RADIANT
• Collaborative scientific alignment heading into 2026
• BTAC’s advocacy at the SU2C summit
• And progress toward the non-toxic treatments children urgently need

Your support doesn’t just fund a project. It brings light into a space that has lived under clouds for far too long.

A Brighter Horizon for Children

We cannot change the past, but together we are reshaping the future, one dataset, one discovery, one act of generosity at a time. And families who have endured the darkest days are beginning to see the possibility of a brighter tomorrow.

As we enter 2026, hope is no longer just an idea — it’s our direction.

Double your impact. Fulfill the promise.
Donate through December 31: bit.ly/BTAC-double-impact

Even among other pediatric brain tumors, high-grade glioma (HGG) is a disturbing diagnosis. It is the deadliest form of pediatric brain cancer and among the hardest to treat. These tumors grow deep within the brain, infiltrating healthy tissue so quickly and diffusely that even the best neurosurgeons cannot remove them completely.

For children and families, the statistics are staggering:

• HGG accounts for roughly 20 percent of all pediatric brain tumor deaths.
• Average survival is often less than two years from diagnosis.
• Existing treatments—surgery, chemotherapy, radiation—are toxic and largely ineffective, leaving those who survive with lasting physical and cognitive harm.

Despite decades of effort, survival rates for HGG have barely improved. Each year, more families hear the same heartbreaking words: “There are no good options left.”

Why Progress Has Been Sluggish

The traditional model of cancer research has unintentionally slowed discovery. For decades, hospitals and labs have stored patient samples and data within their own walls, developing therapies in isolation. This siloed approach meant that no single institution had enough cases—or enough diverse data—to reveal the full picture of how HGG grows, mutates, and resists treatment.

Without large, harmonized datasets, scientists could not:

• Identify the subtle biological patterns that differentiate tumor subtypes.
• Use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict treatment response.
• Design clinical trials fast enough to keep pace with the disease.

In short, every child’s story remained trapped inside a separate data silo.

Breaking Down Barriers Through Collaboration

The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) has changed that story. CBTN unites more than 35 leading hospitals and research centers around the world, sharing biospecimens, imaging, and clinical data openly through the Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas—one of the largest, most comprehensive datasets in existence. Bridge To A Cure is an Executive Council member of CBTN, helping to fuel this barrier-breaking momentum.

For the first time ever, researchers can see across institutions, compare results, and build on each other’s work with relative ease. This collaborative, open-science model has already begun to accelerate discoveries across multiple tumor types.

But for HGG—the most aggressive of them all—the work must go even further.

The Next Leap: Making Data FDA-Ready

CBTN now holds the largest open-access collection of HGG data in the world, contributed by 900 brave children and their families. To unleash its full power, this data must be verified, standardized, and connected at a level that meets FDA gold-standard quality—the rigorous benchmark required to design clinical trials, support regulatory submissions, and serve as the foundation for AI-driven discovery.

That is the focus of the Bridge To A Cure Foundation’s flagship initiative: The Clinical Validation of the High-Grade Glioma Cohort.

Through this project, specialists will:

• Clean and lock 900 patient records to regulatory-grade quality.
• Harmonize imaging, molecular, and clinical data across all sites.
• Validate these datasets in real time to inform AI-powered analyses and discoveries.

When complete, this will be the first FDA-ready pediatric brain-cancer dataset—a resource that researchers, clinicians, and regulators worldwide can trust to accelerate safer, more effective therapies.

How This Work Changes Everything

Validated, interoperable data is more than a technical milestone—it is the foundation for cures. With it, scientists can:

• Develop AI models that uncover molecular targets invisible to the human eye.
• Identify drugs that attack tumors while sparing healthy tissue.
• Launch clinical trials faster, guided by real-world evidence.
• Replace the old trial-and-error approach with precision, data-driven care.

For families, this means shorter paths to new therapies and treatments that heal without harm. For researchers, it means an end to guesswork and duplication. For donors, it means every dollar drives measurable, lasting change.

How Donors Fulfill the Promise

Bridge To A Cure Foundation is raising $150,000 to complete CBTN’s transformational work. Every contribution is urgently needed and helps prepare this data for global use, accelerates discovery, innovates through AI, and develops non-toxic therapies.

And now, thanks to a $50,000 matching gift from a generous anonymous donor, every donation made through the end of the year will be doubled.

The 900 children who contributed their data have given all they can. Now it’s our turn to honor that courage by turning data into discovery and discovery into cures.

Double your impact. Fulfill the promise.

Donate at bit.ly/BTAC-double-impact.

IT’S CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

HERE’S WHAT MATTERS MOST!

Pediatric glioblastoma is among the most lethal and devastating childhood cancers. My family has lived this journey Documentary Film.mov – Google Drive

The truth is stark: progress has been painfully slow—not for lack of brilliant scientists or promising technologies, but because too many institutions choose competition over collaboration.

Prestigious centers are hoarding patient data, research findings, and funding. Some are even diverting scarce dollars away from hospitals that urgently need support, while building financial reserves far beyond what is required.

The result? Duplication of effort. Fragmented silos. Wasted time. Vast regions of the country without adequate resources. And while institutions protect their turf, children continue to die from a disease that has seen little meaningful progress in decades.

Over the past 50 years, billions of dollars and countless hours have been invested. Yet the return on that investment has been negligible. The culprit is clear: a siloed culture that donors have—often unknowingly—funded. We all know what must change.

If a cure is to be found, collaboration and transparency must replace competition and concealment. Institutions must explicitly commit to collaboration in their mission statements. This demands a culture shift—and donors have the leverage to make it happen.

What You Can Demand as a Donor:

• Open Data Sharing – Require institutions to share patient and research data without delay or restriction.
• Collaborative Trials – Expand access for families by insisting on multi-institutional clinical trials.
• Collective Investment – Direct funding toward shared infrastructure—biobanks, genomic commons, AI platforms—where every dollar multiplies impact.
• Accountability – Ensure donor intent is honored; funds must advance cures, not inflate reserves.

Every child lost is a reminder that fractured efforts cost lives. A cure will not emerge from one laboratory or one hospital; it will come only from a unified front.

Your investment is precious. Make it count—insist that it fuels collaboration, transparency, and urgency. Together, we can demand results. Make your pledge below.

Click to sign the Donor Pledge for Collaboration in Pediatric Brain Cancer Research

CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH DONORS

In 2024, Bridge To A Cure Foundation turned turbulence into progress. What began as a stormy forecast for childhood cancer research ended with clear signs of brighter days ahead, thanks to a community determined to improve outcomes for kids everywhere.

A Year Defined by Progress

Last year marked critical milestones in Bridge To A Cure’s plan to reduce pediatric brain cancer 50% by 2030.

• Fueled Innovation: We helped advance the M³ scientific approach, integrating multidisciplinary expertise, multiomics data, and multimodal insights to accelerate breakthroughs to cures and cultivate more personalized therapies.
• Expanded Data Access: Our support enabled more than 800 new tissue samples to be processed for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas, now housed in the NIH-funded Kids First Data Resource Center, where it powers discovery alongside 35 other pediatric and rare disease datasets.
• Drove AI-Powered Breakthroughs: Through collaborations like the $10 million ARPA-H RADIANT project, we laid the groundwork for real-time clinical data integration—an innovation that promises to unlock faster, better-informed treatments tailored to each child.
• Catalyzed Safer Therapies: Strategic funding advanced studies in immunotherapy, apoptosis, and angiogenesis—pioneering new ways to fight tumors without devastating side effects.

These aren’t just research terms—they represent real hope for children and families who deserve a future beyond the shadow of cancer.

Robert Martin, Founder and President of Bridge To A Cure Foundation, reflects on this incredible year of progress:

“Our journey began with a promise—one born from love, forged through loss, and carried forward by hope. What started as a vow to one child has become a mission for all: to reduce childhood cancer deaths by 50% by 2030. Together, we are turning storms into sunshine for children everywhere.”

Why It Matters

The truth remains stark: childhood cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in kids, and most treatments are decades old. But 2024 proved something powerful: collaboration works, data saves lives, and innovation accelerates cures.

The Forecast for 2025: Bold and Clear

Our mission is unwavering: unite and transform the childhood cancer research community to reduce deaths by 50% by 2030. To get there, 2025 is a year of bold initiatives:

• Strengthening Global Data Ecosystems: Invest in platforms that equip researchers across institutions and borders.
• Expanding AI Capabilities: Build AI-powered analytics tools that turn complex data into actionable treatments faster than ever.
• Championing Policy for Progress: Advocate for legislation that sustains research funding and removes barriers to discovery.
• Mobilize the Bridge To A Cure Movement: Engage with families, peer foundations, and industry partners to eliminate silos and amplify impact.

The clouds are breaking, but the work is far from done. Together, we can turn today’s breakthroughs into tomorrow’s cures.

What keeps Bridge To A Cure pushing ahead in 2025? We’re simply Fulfilling the Promise made. You can help us keep our commitment to families facing the devastating effects of brain tumors. Read our 2024 Annual Report. Share our mission. Give to fuel breakthroughs that will save our kids.

IT’S CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS ARE THE BARRIER!

NOT THE RESEARCHERS

Pediatric glioblastoma remains one of the most devastating childhood cancers. My family has lived this journey Documentary Film.mov – Google Drive

The greatest obstacle to progress is not science or technology—it is culture. Too many prestigious institutions hoard data, guard funding, and even divert resources from hospitals that struggle to meet the needs of their patients. The result: duplication, silos, wasted resources, and entire regions left without adequate care. While institutions protect their turf, children are dying from a disease that has seen little meaningful progress in decades.

Why Change Is Non-Negotiable

• Rarity demands scale. No single center sees enough cases or holds enough data to solve this disease. Only pooled knowledge and shared resources can yield statistically valid insights.
• Collaboration accelerates progress. Unified trials and infrastructure reduce duplication, broaden patient access, and generate results in years—not decades.
• Resources are scarce. Every dollar consumed by competition or redundant effort is a dollar not spent advancing cures. Shared platforms ensure maximum impact.
• Mission must outweigh prestige. Institutional rivalries cannot be allowed to determine life-or-death outcomes for children.

For fifty years, billions of dollars and countless hours have been invested with negligible return. Progress has been stalled not by lack of ability, but by a siloed, protective culture. We know what must be done:

• Open, unrestricted data sharing across all centers.
• Shared infrastructure for biobanks, genomic data, and AI platforms.
• Joint clinical trials that expand access and accelerate results.
• Transparent research sharing to prevent duplication and expand the data pool.
• Equitable funding distribution that strengthens resource-limited hospitals.

If a cure is to be found, collaboration and transparency must replace competition and concealment. Every institution should embed transparency and collaboration in its mission.

The Path Forward

Change will not occur by good intentions alone. Institutions are unlikely to move independently. What is required is a pediatric glioblastoma summit—a forum where leaders agree on principles, establish timetables, and commit to implementation.

Childhood Cancer Awareness month is the time for each institution to pledge their support for such a summit; a summit that will knock down barriers, one that will advance collaboration, transparency, and urgency. Make your pledge below.

Click to sign the Institution Pledge to Drive Collaboration and Transparency

CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH RESEARCHERS

Bridge To A Cure’s reimagined approach to childhood brain tumor cancer was presented to the National Cancer Institute on October 5, 2017. The core imperatives driving the approach are:

• Data: Fuel a robust, multiomic brain tumor data ecosystem shared freely among all researchers globally.
• AI: Employ generative AI (artificial intelligence) throughout the research process.
• Nontoxic Treatments: Develop nontoxic treatments that target pediatric brain tumor cancer cells via the immune system, angiogenesis or apoptosis.

Thanks to NCI’S support and advocacy, this approach has been enthusiastically embraced by the broader pediatric cancer community, with our partners at the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) leading the pack.

The team at CBTN, led by Dr. Naqvi, leveraging data and AI has successfully found a solution to targeting tumor cells without harming normal brain cells. This was just published by the Cell Report, a prestigious research journal that publishes meaningful breakthroughs that the entire research community has open access to.

Scientists studying aggressive childhood brain tumors (pediatric high-grade gliomas, or pHGGs) face a problem: there aren’t many unique “flags” on the tumor cell surface that can be targeted by treatments without harming normal brain cells.

To find new treatment targets, researchers looked at the differences in how cancer cells and healthy brain cells read and edit genetic instructions. They noticed that in tumor cells, some tiny bits of genetic code—called microexons—were missing from certain outer-layer proteins. Many of these proteins help nerve cells connect and talk to each other, including one called NRCAM.

NRCAM is a protein that sits on the surface of nerve cells and acts like Velcro, helping them stick to and communicate with each other so the brain’s wiring works properly.

In nearly every tumor sample tested, two specific microexons (numbers 5 and 19) were missing from NRCAM. This altered version of NRCAM wasn’t just different—it was critical for the tumor’s ability to spread and grow. When researchers made an antibody that specifically recognized this altered NRCAM, they could “mark” the tumor cells. Then, specially engineered immune cells were able to find and destroy them.

This discovery suggests that the altered form of NRCAM—and possibly other similar proteins—could be highly precise targets for new cancer treatments that train the immune system to attack only the tumor cells.

Leadership Position to save the lives of children remains open.

Childhood brain cancer is not just the leading cause of cancer-related death in children—it is a catastrophic disease that leaves few survivors, and those who do survive often carry lifelong physical and cognitive burdens. With only 5% surviving long-term, it is clear the system is failing our children. It’s time for a radical shift in how we approach research. And that shift must be led by an organization deeply imbedded within the pediatric brain tumor cancer community. the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), with strategic support from the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN), Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC), and Pediatric Neuro-oncology Consortium (PNOC).

The Urgency: One Disease, One Mission

Bridge To A Cure Foundation’s mission is clear: reduce childhood cancer deaths by 50% by 2030. To do that, we are focusing on childhood brain tumors—the deadliest form of childhood cancer. If we solve this, we will not only save lives but also unlock new frameworks and treatments applicable to other childhood cancers.

But success depends on transforming the research model.

For eight years we have been the proponent of a collaborative, data-driven initiative that brings together the best scientific minds and most advanced technologies—particularly artificial intelligence and multi-omic data sharing—to develop nontoxic, immune-based treatments that target pediatric brain tumors through apoptosis (programmed cell death), angiogenesis (disruption of blood supply), and immunotherapy.

Community wide leadership urgently needed.

In our April Blog, we proposed NCI to assume that leadership. We hope that they are in the process of assessing this possibility given the uncertainty facing the future of organizations and departments within the National Institute of Health.

The good news is that that childhood brain tumor community is rich in talent. Below are five other organizations that individually or collaboratively could lead this initiative.

Stand Up 2 Cancer Foundation

1. Track Record of Accelerating Breakthroughs

SU2C has redefined how cancer research is funded and organized—by breaking down barriers, promoting team science, and demanding accountability. Their “Dream Team” model has revolutionized adult cancer research and could be game-changing if coupled with Bridge to a Cure’s pediatric brain tumor approach.

2. Unmatched Fundraising Power

SU2C has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and garnered support from media giants, major donors, and the public. Pediatric brain cancer research has historically lacked adequate visibility and funding. SU2C can change that overnight.

3. National Platform and Cultural Reach

SU2C’s media partnerships and televised fundraising campaigns have made cancer a national conversation. By elevating pediatric brain cancer to a priority, SU2C can spark a groundswell of support and resources that smaller nonprofits cannot generate alone.

4. Neutral Convener of Stakeholders

SU2C has the credibility and reach to bring together the National Cancer Institute, pharmaceutical companies, major hospital systems, and top researchers. They can help align interests and focus efforts around a single, high-impact goal: curing childhood brain cancer with nontoxic treatments.

The Children’s Oncology Group?

COG is uniquely positioned to lead this initiative for several reasons:

1. Unparalleled Reach: COG is the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research, with over 200 member institutions. It provides access to thousands of patients and a nationwide infrastructure capable of rapidly piloting and scaling promising discoveries.

2. Clinical Trial Authority: COG conducts the majority of clinical trials for pediatric cancer in North America. Its experience in designing, managing, and analyzing clinical trials ensures scientific rigor and regulatory compliance—essential for any nontoxic, immune-based therapy to reach patients quickly and safely.

3. Centralized Coordination: A mission of this scale cannot afford fragmentation. COG has the credibility and organizational capacity to unify

stakeholders and eliminate duplication of effort, ensuring that data, talent, and funding are used efficiently.

Either of the Three Childhood Brain Tumor Networks/Consortiums

· Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN)

A global leader in pediatric brain tumor biospecimen and data collection, CBTN has built one of the largest open-access data platforms for childhood brain cancer. Their data-sharing ethos and advanced infrastructure make them the ideal engine for fueling the AI and multi-omic components of this initiative.

· Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC)

PBTC brings decades of expertise in early-phase clinical trials for pediatric brain tumors, especially in testing novel therapeutics. Their strength lies in translating lab discoveries into clinical applications quickly and safely.

· Pediatric Neuro-oncology Consortium (PNOC)

PNOC excels in precision medicine and individualized treatment protocols, often incorporating patient and parent input. Their experience with decentralized trials and personalized approaches will ensure that therapies are adaptable, humane, and impactful.

The Vision: From Silos to Synergy

Each of these groups is doing important work. But we are at an inflection point. A fragmented landscape will not save lives at scale. We need synergy, not silos. Any one of the above candidates could serve as the conductor of this symphony of science—coordinating data, trials, resources, and talent to achieve what none of these organizations can do alone: cure pediatric brain cancer with nontoxic therapies by 2030.

This isn’t just a hope. It’s a plan. And with the leadership from within the childhood brain tumor community, it’s a future we can build—together.

Bridge To A Cure Foundation: Mission-Driven. Data-Powered. Child-Focused.

Pediatric brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children, yet the fight against them remains disjointed, underfunded, and often siloed.

Despite decades of dedicated work by researchers, nonprofits, and institutions, meaningful progress remains painfully slow. The field is fractured—research institutions compete for limited grants, nonprofit organizations pursue parallel but uncoordinated initiatives, pharmaceutical companies struggle to justify investment in small patient populations, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is constrained by both bureaucracy and budget cuts. The time has come to confront a simple truth: no single stakeholder can solve this crisis alone. Only through robust collaboration and transparent resource sharing can we deliver real breakthroughs for the children and families who need them most.

Our March blog proposed a course of action to address the issues and secure the opportunities now facing the community. What’s needed now is leadership.

The biology of pediatric brain tumors is staggeringly complex.

With over 120 distinct types, these tumors demand a research approach that is not only comprehensive but also deeply integrated across disciplines and sectors. Yet too often, valuable data—genomic profiles, imaging libraries, treatment response patterns—are locked within institutional firewalls or scattered across disconnected databases. This fragmentation slows discovery, stifles innovation, and leads to duplicated efforts that waste precious time and funding.

Nonprofit organizations, often born from grief and driven by passion, have been instrumental in raising awareness and funding research. However, their impact is limited when they work in isolation or without clear alignment with the most promising scientific pathways. The same is true for academic institutions pursuing individual breakthroughs without benefiting from shared preclinical models, data ecosystems, or patient registries.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies face immense economic and regulatory challenges in pediatric oncology, where patient numbers are small and trials are difficult to design. Yet their expertise in drug development and capacity for large-scale manufacturing remain vital to the pipeline of new treatments. Unlocking this potential requires trusted, strategic partnerships that de-risk participation and emphasize shared value rather than market size.

At the center of it all, the NCI has both the mandate and the opportunity to act as a unifying force. Through targeted funding mechanisms, policy leadership, and support for open science platforms, the NCI can foster the kind of infrastructure that connects these silos—bringing researchers, funders, and industry together under a common purpose.

Collaboration is not a feel-good ideal. It is a strategic imperative.

Imagine a world in which clinical trial designs are harmonized, where AI analyzes unified multi-omic datasets to find patterns invisible to the human eye, where redundant projects are merged to scale promising discoveries faster. Imagine a single, global pediatric brain tumor data common, accessible to every scientist committed to a cure. This is not science fiction. It is entirely within reach—if we choose to work together.

The urgency could not be greater.

Every day, families hear the words “inoperable,” “incurable,” or “no further options.” These children deserve more than incremental progress. They deserve a bold, coordinated strategy that maximizes every dollar, every dataset, and every ounce of knowledge we possess. To honor them, we must put aside institutional pride, dismantle silos, and build a true alliance—one defined not by competition, but by collaboration in service of a cure.

But what if NCI is not up for the challenge, or denied the opportunity by the White House? The May blog will offer another option.

The childhood cancer landscape is changing and changing fast. The National Institute of Health (NIH), a lifeline for the childhood cancer community has depended upon since 1930, is facing serious cutbacks.

The NIH 2025 budget is $54 billion and employs over 50,000. There are 21 health related institutions within the NIH of which the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is one. The NCI 2025 budget is $7.2 billion and employs 3,500. At risk are the following:

· Research Grants………..$3.2 billion

· Other Grants…………….. . 6 billion

· Research Centers………. . 6 billion

· R&D Contracts………….. . 9 billion

· Intramural Research….. 1.3 billion

· Management/Other….. .6 billion

Total………………..$7.2 billion

Where and to what extents there will be cuts is uncertain.

Understandably the community is upset, confused, disappointed and angered. While efforts to save NIH are underway, they are unlikely to be successful.

The potential magnitude of this loss is enormous, all the more reason that the community must plan now for the worst-case scenario. It needs to do what best-in-class industries and organizations do when their business is at risk – reengineer. The good news is that the pediatric brain tumor cancer research community has already started.

Research Approach Reengineered

What was accomplished in a short period of time was encouraging; the optimism for saving lives elevated to the highest level ever.

· They began by identifying the issues that were barriers to discovery.

· Next, they pinpointed the root causes of these barriers.

· From these learnings a plan was developed and implemented that transformed the pediatric brain tumor research community’s approach to research from siloed to collaborative, from data starved to data driven, from limited analytics to powerful algorithms, from a reliance on highly toxic treatments to an accelerating flow of innovative nontoxic treatments.

We now need a community-wide effort.

Pediatric Cancer Brain tumor Community Reengineered

The truth is that the pediatric brain tumor community has needed reengineering for decades. While resistant to change for years, it can no longer afford to be. We must remember that it is the lives of children we are fighting to save, not our own.

The community must now embrace change and engage in a community-wide reengineering initiative. One that will leverage the community’s collective resources and eliminate inefficient and ineffective practices; one centered around a culture of collaboration and focus.

Below is a process to do just that; one that will require representation from each sector of the pediatric brain tumor community.

Step 1: Issues identified 4/1/25

• Current:
  • Within each sector
  • Across sectors
• Resources eliminated from NIH/NCI

Step 2: Reengineering principles agreed

• Establish a community-wide mission; one that is audacious and measurable: To cut the childhood brain cancer death rate 50% by 2030.
• Embrace a set of research imperatives
  • Invest/contribute to a Comprehensive Brain Tumor Database: Expand and leverage an open-access database for global researchers to accelerate discovery.
  • Leverage Generative AI: Integrate artificial intelligence across the research process to enhance speed, accuracy, and innovation.
  • Develop Nontoxic Treatments: Focus on therapies that utilize the body’s immune system, angiogenesis, and/or apoptosis to target cancer cells.
• Commit to a set of unification imperatives:
  • Collaboration: Pooling resources, research, data, and funding to maximize impact.
  • Focus: Concentrating resources on fewer, high-impact initiatives to ensure greater progress.

Step 3: Plan Developed

• Multi sector leadership team formed.
  • Children’s Oncology Group
  • Research Institutions
  • Each of the three Pediatric Brain Tumor Networks/Consortiums
  • Large Nonprofits
  • Smaller Nonprofits
  • Pharmaceutical Companies
  • AI companies
  •  NCI/NIH
• Planning session
  • Leader from above group recruited
  • Consulting firm with extensive experience engaged
  • Executive planning team enlisted
  • Plans for multi sector leadership team completed.
  • Logistics finalized

A more detailed version of the above proposal has been submitted to a few select organizations that are well positioned to take a leadership role. I will report progress as it materializes.

Our January blog announced that the time had come for the pediatric childhood community to rally behind a common goal: to reduce childhood brain cancer deaths 50% by 2030. This requires the full engagement of the entire pediatric cancer community, with a collective commitment to three strategic imperatives:

· Create a Comprehensive Brain Tumor Database

· Leverage Generative AI

· Develop Nontoxic Treatments

Realizing these strategic imperatives will require a fundamental shift in the culture of the pediatric cancer community, centered around:

· Collaboration: pool /share research initiatives, resources, data and funding.

· Focus: harness more resources behind fewer initiatives.

An overview of the pediatric cancer brain tumor community follows:

· Research Sector: This includes all pediatric cancer research institutions that are not part of the private sector. From a planning perspective, it is important to note that five of the organizations account for most of the research while two hundred institutions belong to the Children’s Oncology Group.

· Nonprofits: It is estimated that 50% of pediatric cancer research funding comes from nonprofits. This sector can be divided into two categories:

•  The ten largest nonprofits that account for 80% of pediatric cancer research funding.
• Smaller nonprofits that are members of a pediatric brain tumor coalition or network.

· Public Sector: Principal participants are federal government entities, the National Cancer Instititute (NCI Funding/Policy and Cancer Research Centers), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and Legislators. While NCI manages the bulk of the load, each department is important.

· Private Sector: there are two primary segments, pharmaceuticals and technology (tech) companies.

• Pharmaceutical Companies: historically, this industry’s participation has been limited in the pediatric space. Recent legislation now requires a greater contribution and involvement by applying learnings from adult brain tumor research.
• Tech Companies: Companies involved with artificial intelligence (AI) can play a transformative role in accelerating the pace of pediatric brain tumor cancer discovery through data analysis, precision medicine, and more.

In the following blogs of this series, we will outline the expectations from each sector within the pediatric cancer brain tumor community.