The 2016 Boston Marathon is 11 weeks from today and things are really starting to heat up - no, literally. It is currently 62 degrees in Boston, birds were chirping as I left for work this morning, and most of the snow in our yard has melted away. This is a far cry from last year's frigid temps and the mountains of snow that towered over me for months. And I am not complaining! However, if that groundhog sees his shadow tomorrow I respectfully request the right to ask for clarification as to whether that would be six more weeks of this winter's weather or last year's.
If the weather isn't motivation enough today's impact statement reminds us why will run our hearts out on April 18th (and in the 77 days leading up to it). While every type of cancer diagnosis is life changing, none are perhaps as scary as a pediatric cancer diagnosis. So today I wanted to highlight the work of Barr investigator Dr. Rani George, whose research into neuroblastoma in children is leading to new and innovative treatments to fight this aggressive cancer.
Neuroblastoma has historically been a very difficult cancer to
treat in children, and, although
chemotherapy and stem cell transplants have improved
survival, relapse is common and nearly
almost always fatal. Dr. George and her team used Barr Program funding to discover that about 10% of pediatric neuroblastoma tumors contain a mutation in the
gene ALK. Several successful drugs
already exist to treat other types of cancer that
demonstrate these same ALK mutations, so Dr.
George and her team were able to initiate clinical trials that
could result in new treatments and have the potential to improve survival for children with neuroblastoma. This research also paved way to continued research by Dr. George and her team to investigate the mechanisms of ALK activation and regulation, as well as strategies that can be employed therapeutically. You can learn more about Dr. George and the tremendous research being done by her labratory HERE.
Today you are learning about the clinical side of neuroblastoma and how your generous support helps to have an impact on this and other cancers. Tomorrow I will share a very special post that shows the other side of a Neuroblastoma diagnosis and you will not want to miss it. Until then, I leave you with one of my favorite pieces of motivation which I believe both runners and researchers can appreciate.
