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| Quick Facts |
- Childhood cancers are the #1 disease killer of children - more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined.
- Childhood cancer is not single disease, but rather many different types that fall into 12 major categories. Common adult cancers are extremely rare in children, yet many cancers are almost exclusively found in children.
- Childhood cancers are cancers that primarily affect children, teens and young adults. When cancer strikes children and young adults, it affects them differently than it would an adult.
- Attempts to detect childhood cancers at an earlier stage, when the disease would react more favorably to treatment, have largely failed. Young patients often have a more advanced stage of cancer when first diagnosed.
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| Pillars of Care |
| The Herbert Irving Child & Adolescent Oncology Center (HICAOC) has three pillars of care or “teams” for treating children with cancer - Leukemia/Lymphoma, Solid Tumors and Neuro-Oncology (Brain Tumors). HICAOC is an academic and specialized cancer center with a comprehensive and multidisciplinary team approach that follows established protocols (step-by-step guidelines for treatment). In addition, HICAOC participates in specially designed and monitored research studies that develop more effective treatments and address issues of long-term childhood cancer survivorship. |
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| Leukemia/Lymphoma |
| Our staff is a first class clinical research and patient care team dedicated to advancing the care of patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Our results are among the best reported: 90% for standard-risk patients and 85% for high-risk patients. Short- and long-term effects are minimal on our protocols. The research component of the Leukemia/Lymphoma program consists of the laboratory of Dr. Adolfo Ferrando and his colleagues Drs. Maria Luisa Sulis and Theresa Palomero. In January of 2005, the recruitment of Dr. Ferrando from Harvard University and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute was made possible, in part, by prior commitments of the Wipeout Leukemia Forever Foundation and a grateful patient family. The Leukemia/Lymphoma program currently has a highly developed and successful laboratory component and currently performs clinical research through our membership in the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Consortium and the Children’s Oncology Group. |
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| Solid Tumors |
| Our Solid Tumor Program provides comprehensive medical and surgical care for children and adolescents with benign or malignant bone and soft tissue tumors. Supporting solid tumor research is Taybandz, Inc., whose gifts are designated to our research laboratory under the direction of Dr. Darrell Yamashiro. Clinically, the novel initiatives discovered in Dr. Yamashiro’s laboratory have allowed us to establish the Pediatric Cancer Foundation Developmental Therapeutics program, under the direction of Dr. Julia Glade-Bender. An example of this bench-to-bedside initiative has been the laboratory’s work in anti-angiogenesis and a national study using treatment with the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, Avastin. An additional and generous gift from the Pediatric Cancer Foundation Research has allowed us to hire a research nurse practitioner and an administrative coordinator to assist Dr. Bender. |
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| Neuro-Oncology (Brain Tumor) |
| The neuro-oncology program at HICAOC is world -renowned. The team provides exceptional multidisciplinary care for patients with tumors of the central nervous system. While continually conducting research, they are highly experienced in specialized pediatric neurosurgical procedures. Our team utilizes advanced diagnostic imaging methods such as PET scans, PET/CT scans and high resolution rapid sequence MRI's. The therapeutic approach for our patients with brain tumors incorporates the newest chemotherapy protocols, stem cell transplants, and the most up-to-date radiotherapy techniques including gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery. The basic laboratory research is being conducted by Drs. Antonio Iavarrone, Ana Lasorella, and Saadi Ghatan. The clinical portion of our brain tumor enterprise, the Alfano Family Foundation Neurooncology program, is led by Dr. James Garvin. Working with Dr. Garvin, we have a full time clinical research nurse, social worker and an administrative coordinator/assistant; together, they are conducting clinical research and providing patient care. |
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