STOP CHILDREN'S CANCER INC

SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1981, STOP CHILDREN'S CANCER HAS RAISED OVER $7 MILLION, INCLUDING THE BONNIE'S LEGACY ENDOWMENT FUND WHICH HAS APPROXIMATELY $1 MILLION IN PERPETUITY. IN ADDITION, AS A RESULT OF THESE DONATIONS, WELL IN EXCESS OF $18 MILLION IN NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE/NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH (NIH) GRANTS AND OTHER AWARDS HAVE BEEN AWARDED.STOP CHILDREN'S CANCER / BONNIE R. FREEMAN CLINICAL TRIAL FUND:THIS FUND CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING THE DIRECTOR'S POSITION WHO HAS LED OUR EFFORTS IN GROWING THE PEDIATRIC CANCER TRIALS. THIS INCLUDES ENROLLING 55 CHILDREN ON PEDIATRIC CANCER TREATMENT TRIALS, 84 PATIENTS ON BASIC SCIENCE, SUPPORTIVE CARE, OR SURVIVORSHIP STUDIES, AND AN ADDITIONAL 64 ENROLLED ON THE CHILDREN'S ONCOLOGY GROUP REGISTRY AND BIOLOGY STUDY DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR. STOP CHILDREN'S CANCER / KIMBERLY H. FLAITZ RESEARCH GRANT:A KEY GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH FUND WAS TO SUPPORT WORK ON DEVELOPING VACCINES FOR PEDIATRIC OSTEOSARCOMA WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF OPENING A TRIAL USING ONE OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES IN CHILDREN. THE FUNDING CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE SALARY OF DR. MATTHEW CASCIO WORKING ON DEVELOPING LIPID-NANOPARTICLE(NP) VACCINES AND CAR T CELL IMMUNOTHERAPY. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DRS. CASCIO AND MILNER (MENTOR), WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A JOINT PEDIATRIC AND LARGE-ANIMAL CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY PROGRAM. TOGETHER WE HAVE MANUFACTURED CLINICAL GRADE LIPID-NANOPARTICLE VACCINES. IN PET-DOGS WITH SPONTANEOUSLY OCCURRING OSA, WE HAVE SHOWN THAT LIPID-NP VACCINES ELICIT IMMUNE RESPONSES WITH IMPROVING THE DOGS' LONG-TERM SURVIVAL.LYRICS FOR LIFE / STOP CHILDREN'S CANCER JEFFREY A. BLOCK RESEARCH GRANT:THIS FUNDING SUPPORTED DR. PAUL CASTILLO, WHO IS WORKING ON DEVELOPING NOVEL IMMUNOTHERAPIES TO TREAT REFRACTORY CANCERS, ESPECIALLY T-CELL LEUKEMIAS AND T-CELL LYMPHOMAS. GIVEN THE STRIKING RESULTS OF A COMBINATIONAL APPROACH USING CAR T CELLS AND RNA NANOPARTICLE-BASED VACCINES, HE CONTINUES HIS WORK USING THIS APPROACH THAT WAS REPORTED IN 2021. HE HAS SHOWN PROMISING DATA USING THIS IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC COMBINATIONAL APPROACH FOR ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA, METASTATIC OSTEOSARCOMA, AND METASTATIC MELANOMA. THE PROMISE OF THIS APPROACH IS THAT IT CONTINUES TO HOLD ANTICANCER EFFICACY FOR A WIDE RANGE OF CANCERS. THIS FUNDING ALSO SUPPORTED A REVIEW PAPER THAT WAS PUBLISHED, DESCRIBING TUMOR MODELS FOR EVALUATION OF CAR T CELLS.