see what we’ve been up to
PRESS ON – RESEARCH GRANTS
Press On has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for Neuroblastoma research; tens of thousands of dollars to Memorial Sloan Kettering to develop a an improved version of the monoclonal antibody 3F8 that kept Patrick disease free for two years; and $100,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to pioneer transplant protocols for relapsed AML patients.
We plan additional grants to Sloan Kettering to develop a much better version of the monoclonal antibody 3F8 that kept Patrick disease free for two years. The improved version will work better and hurt less – that is our purpose. Patrick and Brennan and all of their fellow warriors have suffered enough. The worst is yet to come for our boys, but we can ensure that their suffering is not in vain by impelling us to change the world of childhood cancer. Please help us do that through the power of your giving and sharing with your relationships.
NEUROBLASTOMA RESEARCH GRANTS
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Press On has directed over $200,000 to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for Dr. Donald Durden’s research of PL-3 Kinase Inhibitor and Targeted Therapies for neuroblastoma. Click here to read a report from Dr. Durden outlining his progress.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Press On has directed over $10,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) to support a team of dedicated neuroblastoma researchers, headed by Dr. Cheung, who are investigating exciting treatment options that they believe could help save more children with neuroblastoma. MSKCC is working on several pioneering treatments including a humanized version of the 3F8 antibody, a mouse-based 3F8 antibody that attaches to neuroblastoma cells and kills them. The antibody, developed by MSKCC’s Dr. Cheung, also trains a child’s immune system to attack and kill neuroblastoma. Since first used in 1987, 3F8 treatment has greatly improved survival without lasting side effects. The mouse-based antibody’s primary drawback is that it can be rejected by the child’s own immune system. MSKCC is researching chimeric and humanized v versions of 3F8 to alleviate this issue and make it more effective for a greater number of patients. MSKCC is also working on several other promising treatments for neuroblastoma, including different antibodies and a vaccine.
AML/BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Press On just announced a $100,000 research grant to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to assist the funding of Dr. Wing Leung’s research, a Member of the St. Jude faculty and the Director of the Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Division in the St. Jude Oncology Department. His research is focused primarily on natural killer or NK cells. Powerful but rare immune cells called natural Killer or NK cells taken from a parent might provide a safe, effective and affordable approach to preventing cancer’s return in young patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to St. Jude research published in the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Leung was the Senior author of this study. Click here for more information.
Dr. Leung continues his research into NK cells in his laboratory at St. Jude seeking to determine how a patient’s genetic make-up can determine the likelihood of success for an NK cell treatment. Dr. Leung has already found evidence that the order of amino acids in a protein found on the surface of the NK cell can serve as a predictor of success. The $100,000 grant from the Press On Fund will partially fund his budget of over $1,000,000 for research this year.
