Targeted cancer therapies are biologic or immunologic drugs or agents that target cancer cells in the body while leaving most healthy cells alone. These drugs have become a common treatment option for adults with certain types of cancer and, in recent years, clinical trials have shown success for some childhood cancers.

“Targeted therapy is the future of pediatric cancer treatment,” said Dr. Vallance. “Being able to offer more targeted therapy through clinical trials means Cook Children’s cancer patients will have access to the newest treatments available.”

The oncology team at Cook Children’s diagnoses approximately 220 new cancer cases each year. Approximately one thousand patients undergo active treatment or follow up through Cook Children’s each year.

The grant money awarded by St. Baldrick’s will be used to fund a Targeted Therapeutics Program Coordinator. Under direction of Dr. Vallance, this person will coordinate and collaborate with consortiums and pharmaceutical partners to open new targeted therapy clinical trials at Cook Children’s.

“We’ll be able to efficiently open more trials, which will give all patients in North Texas and surrounding areas access to leading edge clinical trials closer to home,” Dr. Vallance explained.

Cook Children’s is one of five hospitals in Texas, and the only hospital in North Texas, selected to receive a portion of $2.26 million dollars in infrastructure grants awarded bySt. Baldrick’s this year. All of the grants awarded will support groundwork for childhood cancer research.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants worldwide. Since government funding for childhood cancer research is limited, research institutions like Cook Children’s depend on private organizations like St. Baldrick’s for support in finding new cures and treatments.

“The majority of childhood cancer patients are treated on a clinical trial,” said Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of St. Baldrick’s. “Research relies on enrolling large numbers of patients on clinical trials to ensure results are meaningful and advancements are made. Funding from St. Baldrick’s will ensure more kids have access to clinical trials, giving them a better chance at survival and a future with less long-term effects.”

The infrastructure grant awarded to Cook Children’s is the first step in the creation of a formalized Targeted Therapeutics program.

“As this research continues for all types of childhood cancer, we will see more opportunities for each child and young adult to receive personalized, targeted therapies as part of upfront standard therapy,” said Dr. Vallance. “Hopefully, this will lead to higher response rates, less toxicities and more cures.”

"This is our moonshot," Obama said in his address to a joint session of Congress, prompting a bipartisan roar of applause.

At Cook Children's Medical Center, efforts to land on that so-called moon have been underway for more than 35 years. As an active research facility, Cook Children's Hematology and Oncology Center is currently participating in about 90 clinical trials aimed at stomping out childhood cancer and blood disorders. For patients and their families, the research happening at Cook Children's means options for novel and leading-edge therapies are accessible in Fort Worth.

"We diagnose around 180 new cancer patients each year and many others are referred to us for relapsed or advanced therapies," said Gretchen Eames, MD, MPH. "At Cook Children's, the majority of these patients go on to enroll in a clinical trial."

Dr. Eames is the Medical Director of Hematology the Oncology Center at Cook Children's and knows firsthand how important clinical research is not only to patients, but to the medical community.

"Pediatric cancer research has really taken the lead. We've made great advances in survival rates because of our clinical research," she said.

Dr. Eames attributes that lead to a higher percentage of pediatric patients being placed on clinical trials compared to adults and to many biologic studies incorporated in the trials that allow the team to target therapy specifically for the patient's type of cancer. According to a blog post made by Vice President Biden, only 5 percent of adult cancer patients in the U.S. end up in a clinical trial. In contrast, 60 percent of patients under age 29 are enrolled in trials.

"We couldn't do it without collaboration," said Dr. Eames.

Researchers at Cook Children's are active in several nationally known cooperative groups. These groups, including Children's Oncology Group and New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy, work together to develop protocols, increase patient enrollment, and share information, all in hopes of furthering success in treating and curing a variety of childhood cancers. Collaboration among cancer fighters, like this, is one of the two main goals Vice President Biden has announced. His second goal is to increase financial resources.

"The dollars provided by government funding is very limited. We are dependent on community members and foundations to help us raise awareness of the need to continue research efforts," said Dr. Eames. "It takes an army of people and a lot of funding to carry out just one clinical trial. Regardless of what happens, we're going to be dedicated to research."

About the Source 

Gretchen Eames, M.D. MPH, is the Medical Director of The Hematology and Oncology Center and Stem Cell Transplant Program at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.  For more information, visit The Hematology and Oncology Center's website. 

I am shocked at the number of patients we see where bad posture plays a role in their pain and physical limitations. Whether it be sports injuries, overuse injuries or postural dysfunction, the trend is younger patients are starting to report more injuries. I see technology driving our kids to be more active in an online space than it does in a physical space.

So I would like to take a minute to address how to get our kids active again, but not just any activity. I want to talk about core activity.

What is the core?

The core is a muscular system that works synergistically to provide support and power generation to the body in all positions and with every activity. Think of a soda can to explain the core. The can has a front (deep abdominals), back (multifidi muscles), top (diaphragm muscle) and bottom (pelvic floor muscles). And just like the can, as long as no one pokes a hole in it, it is very strong. As soon as someone creates a weak spot in the can/core, it can easily be crushed.

When do you use your core?

The core should be used during all of life’s daily tasks, but we lose this ability as children when no one teaches us how to use the core during modern-day tasks such as playing on your Ipad or texting your friends.

How do I train the core of a child?

Return to the basics. Too often we see young athletes who have been given formal instruction in how to pitch a ball or perform a round-off back handspring, but little or no training on what it means to use their core functionally. Schools have our kids doing pushups before teaching how to plank. Physical therapy can definitely help patients of all ages with core training, but there are also some things you can do at home. For really young children (3-6yrs) this can mean returning to games that require you to hold positions, such as Twister or Untying the Knot. For slightly older children (7-12yrs), yoga or even just plank holds (3 positions) help build core strength and endurance. For our teens and young adults more formalized training for power generation and power transfer using the core can be very beneficial.

What does a strong core mean?

For your child a strong core means improved performance in their activities whether that is football, dance or band. It can mean no pain when sitting in class or when trying to be active with peers.

For parents, a strong core means fewer complaints from your child, better posture, and less risk of injury while your child is performing their activities.

If you or your child would like help with core training, please contact your physician and seek a referral to Cook Children’s Physical Therapy Department.

More SPORTS resources related to this topic:

• Top 10 questions parents have about sport injuries
• Young athlete's injury prevention guide

By now you’ve heard about trans fats so much, you may start to tune out how dangerous they can be for your child. We hear these buzz words all the time and it’s hard to tell any more what is and isn’t a serious threat.

How bad are trans fats for you? Toward the end of last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the decision that hydrogenated oils may no longer be generally recognized as safe. That means if a final determination is made (which should be any time now), food manufacturers could no longer sell food products with trans fats or use them as an ingredient without prior FDA approval.

Here are four things you should know about trans fats to help you the next time you’re out shopping or ordering at a restaurant:

1. What are trans fats?

Trans fats are one of the “bad fats.” Some do occur naturally in foods, but most are created by adding hydrogen molecules to liquid vegetable oils. You’ll see them on food labels as “partially hydrogenated oils” or “hydrogenated oils.”

2. Where are they found?

Companies use trans fats because they’re inexpensive, last longer than other fats (increased shelf life), and give foods a good taste and texture. Trans fats are most often found in processed foods or fast foods.  Examples of trans fats are fried foods, baked goods, shortening and margarines, canned frosting and baking mixes. 

3. Why are they so bad?

Trans fats increase your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and decrease your HDL (“good”) cholesterol.  They can increase your risk for heart disease and stroke, and there’s an association between trans fat consumption and higher risk for Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

4. What should we do?

• Look for trans fats on nutrition facts labels and look for partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list. Try to avoid trans fat (0g and no partially hydrogenated oils).
• Cook and eat at home as much as possible.
• Limit processed foods, especially at snack time. Reach for fruit, almonds or a light string cheese instead of chips or processed snacks.
• If eating out, choose baked or grilled proteins and watch “extras” like breads and sauces that may contain trans fat.

Trans fats are dangerous, but the good news is you can protect your kids from them. Start today by reading nutrition facts labels, ingredient lists, and eating at home as often as possible.