Children’s Memorial made meaningful progress

Generous donations made to The Foundation continued to support research and treatment work at Children’s Memorial Hospital. Under the direction of Dr. Stewart Goldman, Medical Director of Neuro Oncology, the dedicated research team at Children’s treated children with brain stem gliomas using a novel regimen that combines the drug Thalidomide with standard radiation and carboplatin chemotherapy in an effort to kill cancer cells and increase glioma survival rates. An initial data report included news that one child undergoing this treatment showed no signs of cancer progression more than two years after being diagnosed. “This is very hopeful especially when you consider the fact that 96% of children with brain stem gliomas lose their lives within two years of diagnosis,” said Dr. Goldman. “To be progression free at this point is very, very rare. We remain cautious in our optimism, however.”

In addition to this treatment, Dr. Goldman continued to focus on other innovative and promising areas of research. He expressed excitement over a new technique his team was investigating called, “Convexion Enhanced Chemotherapy. “We have taken brain tumor cells and have been able to grow them in the laboratory,” Dr. Goldman explained. “Once this is accomplished, it allows us to use the Convexion technique to infuse chemotherapy directly into the tumor. The advantage here is that we are attacking the tumor directly with small amounts of chemotherapy while avoiding toxicity to the whole body. This could represent a new therapeutic option for our young patients with regard to treatment and quality of life,” he continued. “We are excited about the possibilities here. We need to work further on enhancing techniques and we need specialized expertise. We are hoping to be able to add a physician scientist to the team in the near future to work with us in the lab on refining Convexion methodology.”