Funded by the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund
We study a set of bone cancers that affect children and young adults. The treatment for these cancers has remained the same for the last 40 years – combinations of toxic medicines known as chemotherapy, followed by surgery or radiation to remove what is left of the cancer. While this strategy cures some patients, far too many children continue to die from these cancers. We believe we have found two specific weaknesses in these tumors: problems in their ability to repair damage to their DNA and a survival signal in a special pool of cancer cells known as “residual disease”. Through this research, we hope to bring new therapies to patients and cure more children with these bone tumors.