Testing the most promising new cancer therapies for children

It is perhaps a good problem to have: Many more experimental cancer drugs enter clinical evaluation in adults each year than can realistically be tested in children, given the small number of children with cancer eligible for early-stage clinical trials. more  

Technology drives search for childhood therapies

Childhood cancers are biologically different from those that arise later in life. Cancers in children are more likely to involve developing organs, for instance, or to begin in the prenatal environment. more

FDA advisory committee recommends further limits on use of ESAs

On March 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended substantially limiting the use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) to treat anemia in cancer patients. The panel made the recommendation after hearing additional evidence from a recently published meta-analysis showing that ESAs increase the risk of blood clots and death in patients taking the drugs for chemotherapy-induced anemia. more  

Improvements needed for adolescents and young adults

Compared with advances achieved for younger children over the past 30 years, there has been a relative lack of progress in identifying more effective treatments for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients. Cancer survival rates for AYA patients, who are those diagnosed with cancer at ages 15 through 39, have seen little or no improvement for decades. This concern led NCI and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) in 2005-2006 to convene a Progress Review Group (PRG) to evaluate the issues behind this bleak trend. more

International clinical trial of a promising new agent against Ewing sarcoma under way  

Researchers at NCI have joined forces with investigators across the U.S. and Europe to launch an international clinical trial of a promising new agent against Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects mostly children, adolescents, and young adults. more

Mysterious fevers of unknown origin: could surgery be a cure?  

A child spikes a high fever, sometimes as high as 104 or 105 degrees, and sometimes causing seizures. She's rushed to the emergency room, the hospital runs test after test, specialists are brought in, but no explanation is found. Many families - though no one knows how many - go through this cyclical nightmare. The fevers seem to come like clockwork, aren't accompanied by any obvious symptoms and don't respond to antibiotics or fever reducers like Motrin or Tylenol. Instead, they vanish on their own after four to five days, only to return four to six weeks later. more

Early living together, marriage and parenting benefits some young adults

Young people are always encouraged to complete their education and postpone marriage and children to achieve more rewarding lifestyles. However, a Penn State study found that for some young adults, getting married or living together and having children have provided positive benefits. more

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