On January 31, 2026, at the Stand Up To Cancer Innovation Summit, I presented three recommendations intended not as incremental adjustments, but as structural corrections to a system that has tolerated delay for far too long  .

Individually, each recommendation addresses a material weakness in the pediatric brain tumor ecosystem. Together, they form an integrated operating framework—aligning biology, data, and capital around accountability, speed, and measurable patient impact.

This is not a call for refinement. It is a call for reset.

1. Replace Escalating Cytotoxicity with Tumor Behavior Modulation

Glioblastoma is not a simple malignancy. It is defined by molecular heterogeneity, intratumoral plasticity, adaptive resistance, immune evasion, and rapid recurrence.

Conventional approaches—dependent on blood–brain barrier–penetrant alkylating agents—deliver modest tumor exposure while imposing profound systemic and neurocognitive toxicity. After four decades of limited durability, continued reliance on highly toxic, low-yield regimens is biologically mismatched to the disease and increasingly difficult to defend.

A more rational strategy is to modulate tumor behavior rather than escalate cytotoxicity.

That includes:

• Immune-based strategies that overcome GBM’s immunosuppressive microenvironment
• Pathway-specific induction of apoptosis targeting dysregulated survival signaling
• Anti-angiogenic approaches disrupting aberrant vascular networks that enable proliferation and invasion

These strategies prioritize specificity, durability, and reduced collateral damage.

Accordingly, Summit RFAs and associated funding eligibility should explicitly require prioritization of nontoxic, behavior-modulating strategies, replacing continued investment in highly toxic legacy regimens.

Scientific rigor demands it. Ethical responsibility requires it.

2. Elevate Research Data to Financial-Grade Standards

Breakthrough discovery is increasingly dependent on high-quality, interoperable, and governed data. Yet cancer research data remains fragmented, inconsistently structured, and insufficiently governed.

In financial markets, decisions involving billions of dollars rely on standardized, auditable, board-level-governed data. Cancer research—where the stakes are measured in children’s lives—demands no less.

Research data should meet financial-grade standards across four dimensions:

Completeness & Standardization

Clinical, molecular, imaging, outcome, and longitudinal data must be comprehensive, harmonized, and structured for cross-institutional analysis.

Accuracy & Auditability

Clear provenance, version control, and validation processes must allow independent verification, mirroring financial audit requirements.

Governance & Accountability

Data stewardship must be elevated to board-level oversight with named executive accountability and enforceable controls.

Transparency & Timely Disclosure

Data should be shared responsibly and promptly; delayed or incomplete disclosure distorts decision-making and slows discovery.

Until research data is treated with the same seriousness as financial reporting, the ecosystem will continue to tolerate fragmentation, bias, and preventable delay.

Lives depend on data quality. Governance must reflect that reality.

3. Establish Community-Wide Governance of Fundraising and Reserves

Rare diseases operate under constraints of time, patient population, and data scarcity. In that environment, capital efficiency becomes a determinant of survival.

Uncoordinated fundraising and excessive reserve accumulation represent systemic friction—slowing discovery, fragmenting effort, and diluting impact.

To accelerate progress, the pediatric research community should adopt formal governance standards for fundraising and reserve practices, including:

• Transparent fundraising principles aligned with near-term, mission-critical research objectives
• Reasonable, disclosed limits on reserve accumulation
• Regular public reporting on reserves, fundraising efficiency, and deployment toward measurable patient impact
• Incentives that reward rapid and responsible conversion of philanthropic dollars into shared data and therapeutic advancement

Strong governance of fundraising is not restriction—it is discipline. It ensures that every dollar raised moves toward cure, not institutional comfort.

In a field where patients cannot wait and no single institution has sufficient scale to succeed alone; capital must move with urgency.

An Integrated Framework for Cure

Individually, these recommendations address science, data, and capital.

Collectively, they align the system.

• Biology drives therapeutic strategy.
• Data fuels discovery and AI-enabled insight.
• Capital accelerates execution and collaboration.

When one pillar is weak, progress stalls. When all three are governed with rigor and aligned around outcomes, acceleration becomes possible.

Following the Summit, SU2C will issue an RFA and assemble a dedicated Dream Team with the potential to cure malignant gliomas. That effort must be anchored not only in exceptional scientists, but in exceptional standards.

The pediatric brain tumor community does not lack intelligence.

It does not lack commitment.

It does not lack funding.

What it has lacked is structural alignment.

That alignment is achievable.

And now, it is non-negotiable.

WINSTON ELY

Originally published by PR Newswire, November 20, 2025.

Bridge To A Cure Foundation announces the appointment of Winston Ely to its Board of Directors. Ely, a Brooklyn-based designer and developer, brings more than 30 years of experience in architecture, sustainable design, and community-focused development.

Ely is the Owner and Creative Director of WE Design and Founder of WE Develop, where he leads residential and mixed-use projects with an emphasis on thoughtful planning and environmental responsibility. He also serves as a Green Infrastructure Fellow for the Design Trust for Public Space, contributing expertise to efforts focused on improving stormwater management and water quality across New York City.

Ely’s appointment to the organization’s Board of Directors carries personal meaning. Bridge To A Cure Foundation was established in memory of his daughter, Clara Ely, whose life continues to inspire the organization’s mission to accelerate progress in childhood cancer research through data integration, collaboration, and innovation.

“Winston brings valuable perspective as both a parent and an experienced leader in systems-based problem-solving,” said Bob Martin, Founder and Chair of Bridge To A Cure Foundation. “His insight will support our efforts to expand collaboration and strengthen the infrastructure needed to advance more effective pediatric brain cancer research.”

As a member of the Board, Ely will support strategic planning and governance efforts that align with the foundation’s focus on driving scientific collaboration and improving outcomes for children facing brain cancer.

“I am honored to join the Board of Bridge To A Cure Foundation in Clara’s memory,” shared Ely. “I look forward to contributing to efforts that connect people, data, and ideas to help accelerate meaningful progress for children and families affected by cancer.”

Ely resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Tricia Martin, and their children, Keira and Yeimer. He holds a BA in Art and Environmental Design from the University of Vermont and a Master’s in Architecture from the University of Oregon.

About Bridge To A Cure Foundation

Bridge To A Cure Foundation is accelerating the pace of childhood cancer research by championing data integration, collaboration, and innovation. By breaking down silos and investing in platforms that connect researchers, clinicians, and families, the foundation strives to ensure that every child and family can benefit from the full power of science, technology, and shared knowledge. To learn more, visit BridgeToACure.org.

The landscape of pediatric cancer research is undergoing a dramatic transformation, driven by a determined spirit of collaboration, data sharing, and technological innovation. This shift is fueled by a growing understanding of the unique challenges faced by young patients and a collective determination to find cures. Bridge To A Cure Foundation played a leading role defining and transforming the approach to pediatric brain cancer.

A Shared Vision

In recent years, researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates have formed powerful alliances to accelerate the speed at which information is gathered, organized, and shared. Organizations like Bridge To A Cure partner, The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN), have fostered cooperation and accelerated research so that scientists can identify promising findings, uncover new insights, and develop more effective treatments by sharing data, expertise, and resources.

The Power of Data

Data is the lifeblood of modern research, and the pediatric cancer community has recognized its immense potential.

Initiatives like the Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas (PBTA) are where support from Bridge To A Cure ,and other nonprofits, can have a greater impact. The PBTA is a groundbreaking initiative that leverages the power of multi-modal data from over 8,000 enrollees. This rich dataset, encompassing genomic information, clinical records, digital imaging, and more, provides a comprehensive view of each patient’s journey. By unlocking the insights hidden within this data, researchers can develop more targeted and less toxic therapies, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Government Support and Innovation

Governments worldwide have also recognized the importance of supporting pediatric cancer research. Increased funding for research initiatives has allowed scientists to explore new avenues, such as immunotherapy and gene therapy. Additionally, advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning have opened new possibilities for drug discovery, clinical trial design, and personalized medicine.

Bridge to a Cure is proud to support collaborative efforts that are transforming the landscape of pediatric cancer research.

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Act has created a powerful platform for researchers to share data, insights, and expertise. By making the CBTN PBTA dataset accessible to the global research community, we are fostering innovation and accelerating the pace of discovery. Together, we can build a future where every child has the chance to thrive.

A Culture of Collaboration

The culture of pediatric cancer research has evolved significantly, with a greater emphasis on collaboration and open science. This movement away from competitive research models in pediatric research has paved the way to real progress in pediatric cancer research and understanding congenital disorders. Researchers are increasingly sharing their findings and working together to address complex challenges. Forums like the Bridge To A Cure-sponsored Children’s Brain Tumor Network Summit, attended by hundreds of scientists and technologists in Virginia this past October offer opportunities for the pediatric brain tumor research community to explore ideas together. This collaborative approach removes traditional research barriers and accelerates the pace of discovery.

The advancements in pediatric brain tumor research in recent years is directly attributed to a collaborative approach within and across institutions. Childhood cancer nonprofits should do the same.  Next month’s blog will begin to explore this opportunity.

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 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.

In this, the third of our three-part series on leading-edge research in childhood cancer, Bridge To A Cure informs of a novel approach to research in which we are investing. We’ve taken a look at scientific approaches in the areas of immunotherapy and angiogenesis. Now, let’s explore what else researchers are uncovering within kids’ own bodies to combat challenging and often aggressive childhood brain tumors, apoptosis.

Apoptosis: Programming Cancer Cell Death To Save A Life

Often called “programmed cell death,” apoptosis is a crucial process in developing and maintaining healthy tissues in the body. It allows the body to remove cells that are no longer needed or that could potentially become harmful, such as damaged, diseased, or cancerous cells. In the context of childhood brain tumors, leveraging apoptosis has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy.

Childhood brain tumors represent a diverse group of diseases that vary significantly in their prognosis and treatment options. Traditional treatments, such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, often referred to as “standard of care,” has been devastating to the children with brain tumors and their parents:

The Journey is Horrific

• Frightful, excessive, and severe chronic pain
• Excruciating and harmful emotional strain
• Work disruption/Financial devastation
• Ongoing deep psychological damage

Those that Survive, Suffer

• 95% who survive have significant health-related issues later in life
• The emotional strain continues
• Occupational/Financial recovery is a serious challenge

The strategy of inducing apoptosis in cancer cells offers a targeted approach to therapy, aiming to minimize harm to healthy tissues while effectively eliminating cancer cells.

Cancer cells often evade apoptosis, which is one of the reasons they can grow uncontrollably. By understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie this evasion, researchers will be able to develop drugs and therapies that can specifically trigger apoptosis in cancer cells.

One approach to induce apoptosis in childhood brain tumors is with targeted therapies that home in on specific genetic mutations or pathways that are active in cancer cells but not in healthy cells. For example, some drugs can target the proteins involved in the pathways that regulate cell survival and death, effectively reactivating the apoptosis process in cancer cells.

Another promising strategy involves immunotherapy, which enhances the body’s immune response against cancer cells. Certain types of immunotherapies can help recognize and destroy cancer cells by triggering apoptosis, offering a more personalized and effective treatment option for pediatric brain tumor patients.

Gene therapy is also being explored to correct the genetic mutations that prevent apoptosis in cancer cells. By repairing or replacing the defective genes, this approach seeks to restore the natural process of programmed cell death, thereby reducing tumor growth and potentially leading to a cure.

The use of apoptosis in treating childhood brain tumors represents a significant shift towards more targeted and less toxic treatments. While research in this area is ongoing, early clinical trials and studies have shown promising results, offering hope for more effective and safer treatments for young patients with brain tumors. 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 approach used today with an approach that is nontoxic and that cures.

Innovative approaches are crucial for the effective management and treatment of childhood cancer, yet traditional research methods often fail to address the complexities of these diseases. However, through multidisciplinary research and collaborative efforts, promising avenues for advancing childhood cancer research have emerged.

Challenges and Effective Research Emergence

The landscape of childhood cancer research has long been characterized by researchers working independently, leading to fragmented insights and missed opportunities for breakthroughs. Recognizing this, the Bridge To A Cure Foundation has championed collaborative approaches to bridge these gaps. By bringing together experts from various disciplines, the foundation aims to overcome the limitations of traditional methodologies and propel the field of childhood oncology forward.

Leveraging Collaborative Data

Central to the success of collaborative efforts is the robust data infrastructure managed by the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) and supported by the Bridge To A Cure Foundation. This comprehensive data ecosystem serves as a repository of valuable information, enabling researchers to explore new avenues of inquiry and uncover insights into the biology of childhood cancers. Without this wealth of data and specimens available, accelerating treatments for children with cancer would be hindered.

“Integration of diverse expertise, alignment of research priorities, and innovation in methodologies are our guiding principles.” —Mateusz Koptyra, CBTN Lab Director and founding partner for the collaborative effort

By integrating data from diverse omics disciplines such as genomics (study of all the genes in a person), proteomics (study of all the proteins in a person), transcriptomics (study of all the RNA molecules produced by a person), metabolomics (study of all the small molecules, or metabolites, in a person), and epigenomics (study of chemical modifications to DNA and proteins that can influence gene activity), researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of childhood cancers. This holistic approach allows for the identification of complex patterns and interactions, leading to the discovery of potential therapeutic targets. The Bridge To A Cure Foundation emphasizes the importance of such multidisciplinary exploration in driving forward the fight against childhood cancer.

Examples of Success and Initiatives

Within the collaborative framework supported by the Bridge To A Cure Foundation, ongoing projects focus on molecular diagnosis of childhood cancers and the development of targeted therapies tailored to specific genetic profiles. By sorting tumors based on their DNA characteristics, researchers can personalize treatment approaches, which maximize efficacy and minimize adverse effects. These initiatives highlight the tangible impact of collaborative efforts in improving outcomes for children with cancer.

One such effort was presented by Anahita Fathi Kazerooni, a research instructor in the Translational Research Imaging Unit of the Center for Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine (D3b) and the Division of Neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Her groundbreaking research, showcased in her award-winning poster at the 2023 Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting, is a testament to the power of multiomic approaches. Her study, which integrated data from multiple research fields, revealed new diagnostics and therapeutic targets for pediatric brain tumors.

A Commitment to Children and Families

Looking ahead, Bridge To A Cure Foundation remains committed to driving innovation and collaboration in childhood cancer research. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, hold promise for accelerating data analysis and uncovering novel insights. However, the foundation’s core mission remains unchanged—to improve outcomes for children and families affected by childhood cancer. By harnessing the collective expertise of researchers and clinicians, the foundation aims to continue pushing the boundaries of knowledge and making meaningful strides toward cures.

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.

Building a robust national database is crucial to energize breakthroughs
against cancer and other childhood afflictions

Last month President Donald Trump surprised advocates for cancer patients by proposing to spend $500 million over 10 years on pediatric cancer research, starting in 2020 with a focus on sharing patient data. Bridge to a Cure wants to make sure that happens.

In his State of the Union speech, Trump honored a “very brave” guest sitting with First Lady Melania Trump: 10-year-old brain cancer survivor Grace Eline, who raised money for pediatric cancer research before developing the disease herself.

Grace is not alone. In America, 30 million children struggle every day with the challenges of a debilitating chronic disease or disorder. These include 13 million children battling a serious disease plus 17 million struggling with psychological disorders.

One of those children might be your own child, grandchild, niece or nephew. Yet as anyone who has stood beside one of these helpless children knows, the medical results they are counting on are often disappointing. We are not seeing the breakthroughs we need to help these 30 million children. We shouldn’t be surprised. Without a robust national database, the information researchers need is limited and insufficient to deliver the breakthroughs millions of children are counting on.

The President pointed out that “many childhood cancers have not seen new therapies in decades.” Boosting funding by $50 million a year would equal an 11% increase over the $462 million that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and other National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes expect to spend this year on pediatric cancer, according to Science Magazine.

Sharing patient data will be a major initial thrust of the new funding according to NCI Director Ned Sharpless. Adding $50 million in the coming fiscal year “would afford a unique opportunity to leverage the power of existing data and develop new knowledge that will drive discovery and development of new approaches to treat childhood cancers,” the agency says.

Some critics worry that focusing on data will come at the expense of other parts of NCI’s budget. But Sharpless says he is “100% convinced that the area of artificial intelligence and machine learning will have a huge impact on cancer research and cancer care.”

Sharpless is former director of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill. There his team used IBM’s Watson supercomputer to organize data on new therapies to help determine what drug to give patients based on tumor mutations. He compared the Big Data approach to “a million paralegals that are really, really fast.”

“Having med students reading charts and abstracting them is just too slow, and so these tools that use natural language processing to extract the records are very useful,” he said. “That’s going to get us a million patients that are clinically annotated and aggregated with genomic data sets. That will allow us to do the kinds of things that we really need to do.”

About a year ago, I met with Sharpless for a couple of hours to discuss our mission at Bridge to a Cure Foundation. He was very supportive of our focus, and we support his proposal to boost patient data as a first step toward building a robust database for pediatric diseases and disorders.

We need to establish a process and framework to capture and analyze hundreds of millions of pages of research, medical files, information on traditional and alternative treatments, and other data in one place. This must be our primary thrust if we are to find effective treatments and cures for diseases that strike both children and adults.

Surprisingly, our nation does not yet have a robust database for pediatric disease and disorders. This is one of the main reasons we started Bridge to a Cure. Our mission is to increase the pace and success of pediatric research by unlocking resources already available today.

It will be up to Congress to decide which of President Trump’s priorities to fund in the federal budget. It is critical that funding for increased research into pediatric disease remains a budget priority with sharing data the primary focus.

Building a robust national database will require us to share ideas, research, and medical files. It’s the only solution that can tie together all that we know about diseases and disorders, while illuminating knowledge gaps we still need to fill. Building such a database on pediatric cancers can serve as a model toward using this approach to fight all pediatric diseases and disorders.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of the 30 million children struggling every day with the challenges of debilitating chronic diseases and disorders. We need to give these kids hope and the will to chase their dreams.

The resources to build a robust national database are available today. With your help and support, we can make this happen. Join the crusade to improve pediatric research at www.BridgeToACure.org by pledging your support. While donations are appreciated, you can also make a difference simply by sharing your name here.

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We are not seeing the #childhoodcancer research breakthroughs we need to help 30 million children with pediatric diseases and disorders. #cancersucks

Surprisingly, the #UnitedStates doesn’t have a robust database for pediatric disease and disorders. #pediatricresearch #pediatriccancer

Building a robust national database for pediatric disease and disorders requires sharing ideas, research and medical files. #pediatricresearch #pediatriccancer

Join the crusade to improve #pediatricresearch at www.bridgetoacure.org.