News

2007

Researchers at the USC-CHLA Institute for Pediatric Clinical Research (IPCR) at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles may have discovered a way to reverse drug resistance in neuroblastoma, a common form of childhood cancer. (Click here to read more...)

Representatives of the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation present check to NANT at NANT meeting, March 2, 2007.

(Please click for larger picture)

2006

The NANT has received an award from the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (http://www.alexslemonade.org) of nearly $250,000 over two years to support its neuroblastoma clinical trials research. The Foundation was established by 8 year old Alexandra "Alex" Scott, who had neuroblastoma. The award will support the efforts of Principal Investigators at 13 NANT consortium institutions and of personnel in the NANT Operations Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. These areas, which are not funded by our peer-reviewed Program Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute, are a vital part of NANT and are necessary for the success of on-going and future clinical trials for children with neuroblastoma. We sincerely appreciate this key award!

The Annual Meeting of PPG and NANT investigators took place in Los Angeles on March 9th to 11th, 2006. Pictures from the meeting can be viewed on the NANT web site at: 2006 Annual Meeting Photos.

Representatives of the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation present check to NANT at NANT meeting, March 10, 2006.

(Please click for larger picture)

On January 17, 2006, NANT registered patient 100 for a clinical study. Achieving this landmark along with the publication in January of the first study of targetted radiation therapy (MIBG) with high-dose chemotherapy by Dr. Katherine Matthay and colleagues in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Oncology begins 2006 on a very positive note. NANT is making excellent progress toward the goal of developing more effective therapies for children with high-risk neuroblastoma.

2005

The WSJ of May 31, 2005 contains an article about testing "smart drugs" in children with cancer. In the "Where to learn more" section, the NANT is included among three organizations that treat children with cancer and is the only one listed for neuroblatoma (see Table at end of article). Click here to view WSJ article.

Meeting registration MUST be completed using the online registration form before February 1, 2006 to guarantee your hotel room and your participation in the meeting and associated dinners.

We were notified on May 25, 2005 that the NCI would fund our PPG for a second 5-year period (2005-2010). We received an outstanding score for our progress and future plans in laboratory and clinical trials research focused on neuroblastoma. The amount of the award to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for this research has not been finalized yet but will be approximately $10.1 million over the next 5 years. Clinical trials research of the PPG is performed by the NANT, and this award provides most of the funding for NANT.

Investigators participating in this PPG and the NANT are leaders in their field who are dedicated to improving therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma. They interact to develop new therapies in their laboratories and then to deliver these treatments to the NANT for clinical testing. The NANT provides therapies for children with neuroblastoma that otherwise would not be available.

The PPG includes three laboratory research projects and the clinical trials project (NANT).

Project 1: Bone metastases. The tumor microenvironment is investigated with emphasis on bone metastasis (tumor, bone marrow mesenchymal, and osteoclast interactions) Yves DeClerck, M.D., Leader.

Project 2: Immunotherapy. Strategies focus on natural killer (NK) cells together with anti-neuroblastoma antibodies, cytokines, and drugs. Studies aim to maximize NK infiltration and anti-tumor activity in microenvironments of primary and metastatic tumors. Robert C. Seeger, M.D., Leader.

Project 3: Ceramide modulation. The cytotoxic retinoid, fenretinide, and agents that synergize with it to increase ceramide induction of tumor cell death are investigated. C. Patrick Reynolds, M.D., Ph.D., Leader.

Project 4: Clinical trials. New strategies developed in our laboratories are tested in phase I trials by the NANT consortium, which includes 14 pediatric oncology institutions across the US. Katherine K. Matthay, M.D., Leader. Operations Center, Judith Villablanca, M.D., Director.

Core components provide research support, histopathology (Hiro Shimada, M.D., Ph.D.), digital image scanning microscopy and flow cytometry (C. Patrick Reynolds, M.D., Ph.D.), small animal models and in vivo imaging (Yves DeClerck, M.D. and Rex Moats, Ph.D.), and biostatistics (Susan Groshen, Ph.D.).

The Annual Meeting of PPG and NANT investigators took place in Redondo Beach on February 25th and 26th, 2005. Pictures from the meeting can be viewed on the NANT web site at: 2005 Annual Meeting Photos

2004

The Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation sponsored this conference, which is for parents. Topics included low, intermediate and high risk treatment options; long term side effects; OMS and neuroblastoma; T-cell and vaccine therapy treatments; a new study on bone metastases; the emotional effects of having a child with cancer; taking care of the siblings of children with cancer; the grieving process and a survivor's story of life after neuroblastoma.

The new NCI Pediatric Pre-Clinical Testing Program (PPTP) has awarded a contract to Drs. Reynolds and Keshelava at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The PPTP is aimed at helping clinical investigators to prioritize new anticancer agents and combinations of agents for testing in children by employing predictive pre-clinical models of pediatric cancers. The PPTP will test blinded compounds made available by the NCI, and this is the only laboratory in the PPTP consortium that performs in vitro testing.

Dr. DeClerck and colleagues found that matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) regulates the vascular architecture in neuroblastomas by promoting pericyte recruitment. They concluded that in neuroblastoma, stromally derived MMP-9 contributes to angiogenesis by promoting blood vessel morphogenesis and pericyte recruitment.

Drs. Maurer and Reynolds, together with Drs. Yesair (BioMolecular Products, Inc.), Shaw (Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc.), Vishnuvajjala and Gupta (RAID program, NCI) developed a new formulation of fenretinide for children and received the 2004 Eurand Award Grand Prize for Novel Approaches in Oral Drug Delivery from the Controlled Release Society, which is the world's largest professional society dedicated to drug formulations. This is the first anti-cancer drug formulation that is specifically designed for pediatric cancer patients. Importantly, this formulation appears to be much better absorbed than capsules. This new formulation will begin testing in the NANT in summer, 2005.

The USC-CHLA Institute for Pediatric Clinical Research (IPCR) was established in 2004 with an anonymous gift of $15 million to develop new strategies for the prevention and cure of serious childhood diseases. The first research program of the IPCR is Developmental Therapeutics, which is directed by Dr. Reynolds and includes Drs. Maurer and Keshelava, who also participate in our Neuroblastoma PPG. The IPCR includes a Regulatory Affairs Office, which will assist PPG investigators in obtaining agents for pre-clinical and clinical studies. The IPCR currently co-sponsors INDs for BSO (Dr. Reynolds), intravenous fenretinide (Dr. Reynolds), and oral fenretinide (Dr. Maurer).

The Annual Meeting of PPG and NANT investigators took place in Los Angeles on March 5th and 6th, 2004. Pictures from the meeting can be viewed on the NANT web site at: 2004 Annual Meeting Photos.

2003

The NANT has added new institutions to further strengthen scientific expertise and to provide novel clinical trials for larger numbers of children with refractory or recurrent neuroblastoma throughout the US. New institutions are Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) - Atlanta, Georgia: Childrens Hospital and Regional Medical Center - Seattle, WA; Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Boston, MA; Children's Memorial Hospital - Chicago, IL; National Cancer Institute - Pediatric Oncology Branch - Bethesda, MD; and Texas Childrens Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine - Houston, TX. Please see NANT Institutions for details.

In September 2003, the NANT initiated the Clinical Scholars program, which provides partial support for NANT investigators who chair a NANT clinical trial. The Dougherty Family Foundation generously provided the funding that allowed the initiation of this important program.

The Annual meeting of PPG and NANT investigators took place in Los Angeles on February 28th and March 1st, 2003. Pictures from the meeting can be viewed on the NANT web site at: 2003 Annual Meeting Photos.

2002

The Annual meeting of PPG and NANT investigators took place in Los Angeles on February 8th and 9th, 2002. Pictures form the meeting can be viewed on the NANT website at: 2002 Annual Meeting Photos.