Co-funded by the Dick Vitale Gala, and WWE in honor of Connor’s Cure
Years of cancer research have shown that combining therapies virtually always works better than when therapies are used alone. Recently, medications have been discovered that change the way genes are turned on and off. At the same time, treatments have been developed that use the body’s own cells to find and attack cancer cells. Each of these treatments have been shown to work alone on specific cancers. Each has known limits. However, the combination has not been studied. Our project explores whether combining these treatments will improve our treatments for childhood cancer. We are especially interested in if combining these therapies will increase the success of cellular therapies. Our proposal initially studies one specific medication that is already approved for use in children. We will also evaluate a large group of possible medications. We expect that our results will quickly result in a clinical trial for children. In addition, it may lead to a new treatment approaches for many cancers.
