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.

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.

Childhood cancers are complex and multifaceted challenges that require innovative and comprehensive approaches. While significant progress has been made in recent years, many of these cancers remain challenging to treat, and the need for groundbreaking research is more urgent than ever. One promising strategy is multidisciplinary research, a collaborative approach that brings experts from various fields together to tackle these complex challenges.

Take A Close Look at Multidisciplinary Research

In multidisciplinary research, clinicians share research goals and work on the same problem from their discipline’s perspective. This collaborative approach allows for a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the disease, as each discipline can contribute unique insights and expertise.

The findings from each discipline can be complementary, and a particular specialty can analyze each aspect uniquely. This can be necessary to answer complex research problems that cannot be adequately addressed by a single discipline alone. For example, a pediatric oncologist might focus on the biological aspects of a tumor. At the same time, a researcher might seek to understand better the patient’s genetic profile to slow tumor growth.

Benefits

Multidisciplinary research offers several key benefits:

• Increased Efficiency: By working together, researchers can avoid duplication of efforts and maximize the use of resources.
• Enhanced Innovation: Cross-pollinating ideas and perspectives can lead to innovative approaches and breakthroughs that might not be possible with a single disciplined approach.
• Improved Patient Outcomes: Multidisciplinary research can ultimately lead to better treatments and improved outcomes for children with cancer.

Multidisciplinary Research in Patient Care

A multidisciplinary approach to patient care can lead to a more thorough evaluation, accurate diagnosis, and tailored treatment plan.

For example, Multidisciplinary rounds (MDR) constitute a patient-centered care model wherein professionals from diverse disciplines collaborate in real-time to provide specialized expertise. These can include care partners, hospitalists, nurses, and pharmacists.

MDRs can help to ensure that all aspects of a child’s care are considered, from their physical and emotional needs to their social and financial well-being. This collaborative approach can also help to reduce the stress and anxiety experienced by families, as they know that their child is receiving the best possible care.

The Role of Bridge to a Cure Foundation

Bridge to a Cure Foundation supports multidisciplinary research into childhood cancers. By funding innovative research projects and fostering collaborations between researchers, we are helping to advance our understanding of these complex diseases and develop new and more effective treatments.

Through our efforts, with the support of people like you, Bridge To A Cure hopes to significantly impact the lives of children with cancer and their families.

Childhood cancer is a complex disease that can manifest in various forms, each with its unique characteristics and challenges. Traditional research methods have provided valuable insights but often fail to unravel the intricate biological mechanisms underlying these diseases fully. To address this, scientists are turning to a groundbreaking approach known as multiomics.

What is Multiomics?

Multiomics is a comprehensive research strategy that simultaneously analyzes multiple layers of biological information, including:

• Genomics: The study of an organism’s complete set of DNA.
• Transcriptomics: The study of the RNA molecules produced by an organism.
• Proteomics: The study of the proteins produced by an organism.
• Metabolomics: The study of the small molecules involved in metabolism.

By integrating these different data sets, researchers gain a more holistic understanding of the biological processes involved in disease development and progression.

Bridge To A Cure Foundation and Multiomics Research

The Bridge To A Cure Foundation is committed to advancing childhood cancer research and improving treatment outcomes. By supporting multiomics research, the foundation is helping to drive significant advancements in this field.

One key benefit of multi-omics research is its ability to identify new therapeutic targets. By analyzing childhood cancer cells’ genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic profiles, researchers can uncover specific molecular pathways essential for tumor growth and survival. This information can then be used to develop targeted therapies that selectively attack cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissues.

Another important application of multiomics research is the development of personalized treatment plans. Traditional treatment approaches often involve a one-size-fits-all approach, which may only be optimal for some patients. Multiomics can help identify biomarkers predicting how a patient will respond to a particular treatment. This information can be used to tailor treatment plans to each patient’s specific needs, potentially improving outcomes and reducing side effects.

Challenges and Future Directions

While multiomics research holds great promise for advancing childhood cancer research, it also presents significant challenges. One of the main challenges is the sheer volume of data generated by these studies. Analyzing and interpreting this data requires sophisticated computational tools and expertise, which don’t come cheaply. Additionally, there is a need for standardized protocols and data-sharing initiatives to ensure that multiomics data can be effectively compared and integrated across different research groups.

Bridge To A Cure is tackling these complex challenges head-on by funding the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) with $200,000 to explore data-driven solutions, including AI-powered tools, to streamline the extraction and analysis of electronic health records (EHR) data.

The Bridge To A Cure Foundation believes in advanced research approaches, like multiomics research, working tirelessly to improve the lives of children battling cancer. By supporting this groundbreaking approach, we can accelerate the development of new and effective therapies that ultimately lead to a cure.

Childhood cancer is a life-altering diagnosis for families. Facing it requires a multi-pronged approach, and thankfully, new technologies are emerging to offer glimmers of hope. One such innovation is the concept of digital twins, virtual replicas of a patient’s biology used to personalize treatment plans and potentially revolutionize pediatric oncology.

What are Digital Twins in Healthcare?

Imagine a virtual version of yourself, a computer model incorporating your unique genetic makeup, tumor characteristics, and treatment response. This is the essence of a digital twin in healthcare. These models create a dynamic representation of a patient’s health by integrating various data sources like medical imaging, genetic analysis, and real-time biometrics collected from wearable devices.

In the context of childhood cancers, digital twins hold immense potential. These “virtual patients” can be used to:

• Simulate Treatment Responses: Doctors can run simulations on the digital twin, testing different treatment options and predicting their effectiveness. This allows personalized therapy plans tailored to the specific cancer and the child’s unique biology.
• Predict Treatment Side Effects: Digital twins can forecast potential side effects of various treatments, enabling doctors to choose the most efficacious option with minimal adverse effects, improving a child’s quality of life during treatment.
• Develop New Therapies: Researchers can utilize digital twins to test the efficacy and safety of new drugs in a virtual environment before clinical trials. This reduces risks and accelerates the development of more effective treatments.

New Technologies Propelling the Digital Twin Revolution

The power of digital twins lies in their ability to leverage a confluence of cutting-edge technologies:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI algorithms analyze vast amounts of patient data, identifying patterns and more accurately predicting treatment outcomes.
• Machine Learning (ML): ML models learn from existing data on childhood cancers and treatment responses, continuously improving the predictive power of digital twins.
• Big Data Analytics: The ability to collect, store, and analyze vast datasets, including genomic information, medical imaging, and treatment response data, is crucial for building robust digital twins.
• High-Performance Computing: Simulating complex biological processes within digital twins requires immense computational power, which high-performance computing provides.

The Impact on Childhood Cancer Treatment

The potential benefits of digital twins for childhood cancers are multifaceted:

• More Targeted Therapies: Digital twins pave the way for precision medicine, where treatments are customized based on a child’s needs. This can lead to higher cure rates and improved long-term outcomes.
• Reduced Treatment Burden: Doctors can choose gentler therapies by predicting side effects, minimizing the child’s physical and emotional toll.
• Faster Drug Development: Simulating new drugs in a virtual environment allows researchers to identify promising candidates faster, ultimately leading to more effective therapies reaching children in need sooner.
• Improved Patient Care: Digital twins empower doctors to make more informed decisions, improving patient care and family communication.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

While digital twins hold immense promise, there are hurdles to overcome:

• Data Security and Privacy: Safeguarding sensitive patient data used to create digital twins is paramount. Robust data security protocols are essential to earn patient trust.
• Model Development and Validation: Building accurate and reliable digital twins requires extensive data and ongoing validation to ensure their efficacy.
• Infrastructure and Accessibility: Not all healthcare institutions might have the resources and infrastructure needed to implement digital twin technology. Ensuring equitable access will be crucial.

Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of digital twins in treating childhood cancers are undeniable.

As research progresses and technology advances, Bridge To A Cure Foundation expects digital twins to become a cornerstone of childhood cancer treatment, offering a brighter future for children battling this disease.

The Future of Digital Twins in Healthcare

The impact of digital twins extends beyond childhood cancers. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the entire healthcare landscape, and Bridge To A Cure is helping to foster its use. Imagine a future where digital twins are used to manage chronic diseases, predict health risks, and even prevent illnesses. While this vision might seem distant, the strides in digital twin technology in pediatric oncology offer a glimpse into a future where personalized medicine empowers doctors to fight diseases more effectively, leading to a healthier future for all.

How Tissue Donation Saves Lives in Childhood Cancer and Rare Diseases

For families facing the life-altering news that their child is diagnosed with cancer or a rare disease, hope can feel scarce. Traditional treatments often have limitations, and finding effective therapies for these complex conditions can be a long and arduous journey.

This is where tissue donation steps in, offering a beam of light in a seemingly dark tunnel. Among the many ways that Bridge To A Cure works towards accomplishing its mission is by strongly supporting this practice. Donated tissue samples become invaluable tools for researchers, allowing them to unlock the secrets of these illnesses and develop life-saving treatments.

Why Tissue Donation Matters for Childhood Cancers and Rare Diseases

Childhood cancers and rare diseases are different compared to adult cancers. They are often more aggressive, have unique genetic mutations, and respond differently to treatments. Due to their relative rarity, research funding and readily available tissue samples can be scarce, further hindering progress.

Donated tissue plays a critical role in this fight

Understanding the Disease: Tissue samples allow researchers to study the disease at a cellular and molecular level. This helps them identify the genetic mutations causing the illness and understand how it progresses.

Developing New Therapies: With a deeper understanding of the disease, researchers can develop targeted therapies. These therapies can be more effective for specific types of childhood cancers and rare diseases, with fewer side effects for young patients.

Testing Existing Treatments: Tissue samples allow scientists to test the efficacy of existing treatments and identify which ones work best for specific patients. This personalized approach to medicine can significantly improve treatment outcomes.

Developing Diagnostics: Tissue analysis can help develop new diagnostic tools to identify these diseases earlier and more accurately. Early detection is crucial for improving survival rates in children with cancer and rare diseases.

The Gift of a Lifetime

Without the unwavering support from organizations like Bridge To A Cure, the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) couldn’t display the transformative power of tissue donation. Established in 2011, CBTN is the world’s largest biobank dedicated to childhood brain tumors, and Bridge To A Cure plays a vital role in its success.

With over 5,500 patients and 2,500 family members enrolled, CBTN provides a rich resource of tissue samples for researchers worldwide. This network, supported by Bridge To A Cure and other powerful organizations, operates through hospitals and research institutions across the globe. When a child undergoes surgery or a biopsy for a brain tumor, families have the option to donate a small portion of the removed tissue to CBTN.

Bridge To A Cure’s contribution to childhood brain tumor research is far-reaching through this collaborative effort. Thanks to CBTN’s vast collection of tissue samples, generously donated by families and facilitated by advocacy, researchers have made significant strides in understanding the biology of these tumors, leading to the development of new and more effective treatment strategies. This collaboration between organizations like Bridge To A Cure and CBTN is among the reasons the goal of reducing the childhood cancer death rate by 50% by 2030 is even remotely possible.

The Future of Tissue Donation

The story of the power of tissue donation is being told daily, as evidenced by the pace of advancing research for childhood cancer and rare diseases. As tissue donation programs grow and expand, we can expect even greater breakthroughs in the fight against these devastating illnesses.

Ways You Can Contribute to the Cause

Spread Awareness: Talk to your family and friends about the importance of tissue donation. You can also share information and resources from organizations like Bridge To A Cure on social media and engage with posts about these important topics.

Consider Tissue Donation: If you or someone you know has a child facing a diagnosis of cancer or a rare disease, inquire about tissue donation options at your hospital.

Give to Support Enrolled Families: Tissue donation requires the cooperation of families, doctors, coordinators, labs, and biobanks. This complex but critical web is needed to successfully make use of this fragile tissue. When you give to Bridge To A Cure, proceeds support this worldwide network and the amazing children who make this research possible.

By working together, we can ensure that tissue donation remains a beacon of hope for children facing cancer and rare diseases, offering them brighter futures and a chance to thrive.

Last month we introduced the promising research surrounding immunotherapy, one of three innovative areas of research in the childhood cancer brain tumor landscape in which Bridge To A Cure is investing. We’ve taken a look at the promise of immunotherapy, and we will explore apoptosis in the next article. This topic provides an introduction to the second research area: angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis: Starving the Tumor to End Its Terror

Angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels, has emerged as a promising therapy in the treatment of childhood brain tumors. Cancer cells, like all living tissues, require a constant flow of nutrients and oxygen to grow and multiply. They achieve this by secreting chemical signals that stimulate angiogenesis, forming new blood vessels that feed the tumor.

In childhood brain tumors, the rapid growth and high metabolic demands of the cancer cells force them to rely on angiogenesis, making it a vulnerable point that would allow for inhibiting tumor growth. The strategy to combat childhood brain tumors via angiogenesis involves the use of angiogenesis inhibitors — substances that block the growth of new blood vessels. These inhibitors work by interfering with the chemical signals that tumors use to promote blood vessel formation. By cutting off the tumor’s blood supply, angiogenesis inhibitors can effectively starve the tumor cells, inhibiting their growth and reducing their ability to spread.

Several angiogenesis inhibitors have shown promise in clinical trials for pediatric brain tumors. The use of angiogenesis inhibitors offers several potential benefits.

By specifically targeting the tumor’s blood supply, these treatments can be more selective, sparing healthy tissues and reducing the side effects associated with traditional chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Additionally, because angiogenesis is a mechanism shared by many types of tumors, angiogenesis inhibitors have the potential to be effective against a wide range of childhood brain tumors.

Despite the promising potential of targeting angiogenesis in childhood brain tumors, there are challenges to overcome. Tumors can develop resistance to angiogenesis inhibitors, making it necessary to develop a combination of therapies that target multiple pathways involved in tumor growth and blood vessel formation. It’s also important to consider the safety and effectiveness of these treatments in children, who are still growing and developing. This requires careful consideration and ongoing research. Angiogenesis presents a promising avenue for the treatment of childhood brain tumors, offering a targeted approach that could improve outcomes and reduce side effects for young patients.

Ongoing research and clinical trials are crucial to overcoming the challenges associated with this approach, paving the way for new, more effective therapies in the battle against childhood brain cancer. Bridge To A Cure wants to accelerate progress in this area via a research initiative that draws on the databases now available and the analytical/diagnostic capabilities of artificial intelligence. The goal is to replace the horrific standard of care in place today with an approach that is nontoxic and that cures.

Bridge To A Cure Foundation continues our ambitious mission to unite and transform the childhood cancer research community to reduce childhood cancer deaths 50% by 2030. We have discovered and worked to remove the barriers that, for so long, have held back progress toward cures. We have identified like-minded experts to form partnerships that push the entire research community forward. And now, we have identified three key areas of research that we at Bridge To A Cure believe hold the promise of finding cures. This is the first of three articles introducing groundbreaking research initiatives in our foundation investing: immunotherapy, angiogenesis, and apoptosis.

Immunotherapy: Harnessing the Body’s Ability to Fight Disease

Immunotherapy represents a groundbreaking shift in cancer treatment, offering new hope for curing childhood brain tumors. Unlike traditional treatments that broadly target rapidly dividing cells, immunotherapy works by harnessing the body’s immune system to fight cancer more precisely and effectively.

Patients with a pediatric brain tumor — among the most challenging cancers to treat due to their delicate location — have seen significant advancements in treatment options with the advent of immunotherapy. This treatment approach includes a variety of modes such as checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cell therapy, and cancer vaccines, each designed to boost the immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

Checkpoint inhibitors work by blocking the proteins that cancer cells use to hide from the immune system, essentially “unmasking” the cancer cells and allowing the immune system to detect and eliminate them. CAR T-cell therapy involves collecting the patient’s immune cells, genetically modifying them in a lab to better recognize cancer cells, and then infusing these enhanced cells back into the patient to seek out and destroy cancer. Cancer vaccines, on the other hand, are designed to provoke the immune system to attack specific cancer cells.

One of the key advantages of immunotherapy in treating childhood brain tumors is its potential for specificity.

By targeting the tumor cells while sparing healthy brain tissue, immunotherapy can reduce the side effects associated with conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, which are particularly concerning in growing children due to the risk of long-term cognitive and developmental issues.

Moreover, immunotherapy offers the promise of durable responses, meaning that some patients may achieve long-term control over their cancer, turning it into a manageable chronic condition. This is a significant step forward in improving the quality of life and survival rates for children with brain tumors.

While the application of immunotherapy in childhood brain tumors is still an area of active research, early clinical trials have shown promising results, offering hope to families facing these daunting diagnoses. As researchers continue to understand how best to harness the immune system against these brain tumors, immunotherapy stands poised to transform the landscape of cancer treatment, potentially offering a cure for some of the most challenging cancers affecting children. Bridge To A Cure wants to accelerate progress in this area via a research initiative that draws on the databases now available and the analytical/diagnostic capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI).

How Scientists See the Field Moving Forward and Addressing the Underrepresentation of Childhood Cancer Research

The annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) member meeting welcomed more than 20,000 cancer experts April 14th-19th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The meeting provided ways to explore the latest breakthroughs and advancements in cancer treatment, including childhood cancer. With large-scale keynote sessions that involve dozens of brilliant minds from across the world to educational breakout sessions and poster presentations, attendees learned about the latest research findings, shared ideas, discussed cutting-edge advancements, and connected with others in the field. This meeting is crucial for moving the field of cancer research forward and paving the way for future treatments. And Bridge To A Cure Foundation was there.

Advancements in Cancer Research

One major area of focus at this year’s AACR meeting was precision medicine, which offers personalized cancer treatments that target the specific genetic mutations feeding an individual patient’s cancer. This approach has shown tremendous promise in treating certain types of cancer, giving hope to patients and families who previously had limited treatment options.

Another exciting area of research that was discussed entailed the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze vast amounts of data and develop new cancer treatments. This innovative technology has the potential to revolutionize cancer research and improve patient outcomes by identifying new patterns and insights that would be difficult to detect using traditional research methods. — and would take exponentially longer to detect without the use of machine learning.

However, despite these promising developments, cancer research still faces numerous challenges. One of the most pressing is the need for increased funding to support research and development. Without adequate resources, progress in cancer research will continue to be slow and limited, and patients and families will continue to suffer. Additionally, collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates is crucial to advancing cancer research and improving patient outcomes.

At the AACR meeting, researchers highlighted the importance of working together to share knowledge and resources and to ensure that patients remain at the center of research and treatment decisions.

It’s important to recognize that behind each research presentation and statistic at the prestigious AACR gathering are real people who have been affected by cancer. Patients and their families are living with the devastating impact of this disease every day, and they rely on the efforts of researchers and experts to find new and better treatments. The advances in precision medicine and AI are not just scientific breakthroughs, they offer hope and better outcomes for individuals and families affected by cancer.

Overall, the AACR meeting is a reminder that progress is happening in cancer research, but there is still much work to be done. By prioritizing funding and collaboration, and by keeping patients at the forefront of research and treatment decisions, we can continue to make significant strides in the fight against cancer.

The Underrepresentation of Childhood Cancer Research

The underrepresentation of childhood cancer research is a devastating reality made apparent at the AACR meeting. Just a small fraction ofthe hundreds of presentations, booths, white papers, and research discussions touched upon childhood forms of the disease.

Despite the tremendous progress that has been made in adult cancer research, childhood cancer remains an area that is significantly underrepresented. With such a small fraction of cancer research focusing on children with cancer, our youngest patients face more limited treatment options and a lower chance of survival than adults with some of the deadliest forms of cancer. It also means that families are left to navigate a complex and confusing healthcare system, often with limited resources and support.

The underrepresentation of childhood cancer research is a human tragedy that affects real people and families every day. At the Children’s Brain Tumor Network booth, Bridge To A Cure leaders helped CBTN share the great news that researchers can freely access one of the largest data collections of its kind in the world.

This call to action invited researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to access shared data and collaborate to prioritize the needs of children with cancer and to dedicate the necessary resources to finding better treatments and cures.

Childhood cancer is an area of research that has historically received less funding and attention than adult cancers, despite being the leading cause of death from disease in children. While it is important to recognize the progress that has been made in childhood cancer research, there is still much work to be done. We cannot let another day go by without taking action to end the suffering of children with cancer and their families.

Consider supporting our mission by learning more about our efforts to empower discovery through collaboration, and the unique need for personalized medicine for every child with cancer.

Alternative, less toxic treatments warrant the same level of robust research as pharmaceuticals.

The horrific journey a child and family travel as they navigate cancer cries out for us to explore options beyond the current standard of care. Bridge To A Cure Foundation’s approach does just that by expanding the standard approach to attacking cancer cells in two ways:

1. We advocate expanding the field of attack to also address the four pathways disrupted by the cancer that compromise the body’s natural defense systems:
   • Angiogenesis — Growth of new blood vessels that fuel tumor growth.
   • Apoptosis — Normal cell death which cancer evades.
   • Immunity — The body’s mechanisms to detect and destroy
   • Metabolism — Tumors rewire metabolic processes for continuous growth.
2. We advocate expanding the arsenal of treatments to include alternative medicine and other non-traditional methodologies such as:
   • Traditional Chinese medicine
   • Vitamin therapy
   • Diet and Nutrition

By expanding the field of attack and the arsenal of treatments, the toxicity level of the standard of care approach can be reduced and the prospects for cures increased. We can also make the journey more tolerable and the outcome more hopeful for kids facing cancer.

Until recently, alternative cancer treatments, also known as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), focused on palliative care — relieving pain and other symptoms to improve quality of life. As research advances, herbal medicines and some other therapies considered “alternative” are showing promise to bolster the health and immunity of patients undergoing radiation and/or chemotherapy. For instance, extract of viscum album (Korean mistletoe) is used to bolster patients’ immune systems that have been compromised by radiation and chemotherapy.

Some CAM treatments also show promise for directly attacking the disease, and for bolstering the body’s four protective processes that can become pathways for cancer.

Attacking the Disease

Pediatric brain tumors have the highest death rate of all childhood cancers, yet are among the most poorly funded when it comes to research. A new study in the United Kingdom is looking at whether cannabidiol (CBD) can help shrink brain tumors in children. Another study is looking at how CBD promotes apoptosis in glioblastoma, the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults.

“Numerous investigations of the last decade demonstrated cytotoxic effects of cannabinoids, including non-toxic cannabidiol (CBD) without psychogenic activity, on human and mouse glioblastoma cells,” the study states.

Boosting Apoptosis

Herbal medicines that have been used for thousands of years in China are the subject of research into their effect on promoting death of cancer cells and boosting the immune system. These include ginger, (which contains phenolic compounds that have been shown to be toxic to some tumor cells) and resveratrol (a phytoalexin found in grapes that is known to causes apoptosis in some cancers).

Angiogenesis: Cutting Cancer’s Energy Source

Tumors survive and grow through angiogenesis, forming new blood vessels that supply them with oxygen and nutrients. Research shows that many natural health products inhibit angiogenesis. These include ginger, aloe vera, green tea, garlic, grape seed extract, fish oils containing omega-3 fatty acids, resveratrol found in red wine and grapes, and antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E.

Metabolism: Slowing Tumor Growth

The ketogenic diet used to control spikes in blood sugar in diabetics also shows promise in inhibiting glucose that fuels growth of certain malignant tumors. In one study, researchers looked at how the diet restricts growth of glioblastoma tumors. In another, they studied effects of the diet on tumor metabolism in two pediatric oncology patients suffering from advanced stage astrocytoma, a type of brain cancer. The results were among the clearest evidence yet that changes in diet and nutrition can help fight cancer.

“Within seven days of initiating the ketogenic diet, blood glucose levels declined to low-normal levels and blood ketones were elevated twentyfold to thirtyfold. Results of PET scans indicated a 21.8% average decrease in glucose uptake at the tumor site in both subjects. One patient exhibited significant clinical improvements in mood and new skill development during the study. She continued the ketogenic diet for an additional twelve months, remaining free of disease progression.

“While this diet does not replace conventional antineoplastic (chemotherapy) treatments, these preliminary results suggest a potential for clinical application which merits further research,” the study says.

Immunotherapy: Bolstering the Body’s Natural Defense System

The body’s natural immune system is often ineffective in fighting off cancer because it does not recognize cancer cells as intruders. Immunotherapy, also known as biological therapy, helps boost the body’s immune response and train it to identify and destroy cancer cells. It includes stem cell transplants that are helping young patients beat neuroblastoma, leukemia, and lymphoma

Immunotherapy can be used as an alternative to chemotherapy and radiation and the damaging long-term side effects they can cause for children suffering from cancer.

“Immunotherapy has already led to major advances in the treatment of many types of cancers, and has been approved as a first line of treatment for several. Its effectiveness has also been proven against types of cancer that have been historically resistant to chemotherapies and radiation treatments,” states an article from Cancer Research Institute.

Adjusting the Sails

The journey children with cancer and their families travel is horrific and the outcomes often discouraging. At Bridge to A Cure Foundation we want to reduce the agony of the journey and increase the probability for happier outcomes. Expanding the field of attack and the arsenal of treatments to reduce toxicity and improve outcomes offers that potential.

There is a famous quote by William A. Ward: “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” Rather than continuing the current standard of care and expecting a different outcome, it’s time we take the realist’s approach. At Bridge to A Cure Foundation, we are working to adjust the sails.