 POB Chief, Dr. Brigitte Widemann and NIH Director, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, listen to POB Investigator Dr. Christine Heske (left) describe her research to Senator Jack Reed (right).
For Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Pediatric Oncology Branch (POB) Chief and MyPART Co-leader, Dr. Brigitte Widemann, led Senator Reed from Rhode Island and his staffers on a tour of POB laboratories on September 13th. NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, OLPA Director Kate Klimczak, NIEHS Director Dr. Rick Woychik, and NHGRI Division of Genome Sciences Director Dr. Carolyn Hutter were also in attendance. POB Investigator Dr. Christine Heske presented her team’s work on pediatric sarcomas. After the laboratory tour, the group visited with a young adult cancer survivor to hear his story. The visit was an opportunity to highlight POB’s latest advances in research.
The Pediatric Oncology Branch often hosts visits from members of Congress and leaders of other countries! Last year, POB hosted First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Jodie Haydon, partner of the Prime Minister of Australia.
For Liver Cancer Awareness Month, we’re sharing Gabriel’s story.
Gabriel, a young adult studying medicine in Mexico, developed a tumor in his liver. He was diagnosed with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. The tumor was large, and his doctors gave him little hope and recommended palliative care. Gabriel’s doctor in Mexico knew of MyPART physician Dr. Juan Carlos Fierro Pineda and his interest in rare pediatric tumors and together they discussed Gabriel’s diagnosis. Dr. Fierro Pineda says, “Something didn't add up... given his age and no history of liver disease, I suspected that Gabriel might actually be suffering from fibrolamellar carcinoma, an ultra-rare form of liver cancer that [comprises] only 1% of all liver cancers. This was a challenging diagnosis, and it required a specialized approach that is typically only available at world-renowned centers like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States.”
Read Gabriel’s full story here.
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Join the National Cancer Institute (NCI)’s Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, from 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET, for an informative webinar on the NCI Pediatric Proton and Photon Therapy Comparison Cohort. Hear from Drs. Cari Kitahara and Choonsik Lee on this multi-center study and collaboration between the NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Massachusetts General Hospital, and investigators from participating treatment centers.
This webinar will focus on:
- the study design
- current enrollment status
- state-of-the-art methods—developed specifically for this cohort—to determine the amount of radiation exposure to different body sites
You’ll have time to ask questions and share feedback to help maximize the potential of this resource for future research studies and inform clinical practice.
This virtual event is free and open to the public. Register here.
Learn more about CCDI events and access past webinar recordings by visiting the CCDI Events & Webinars page.
- The second Strategic Advances in Sarcoma Science (SASS) Conference was held September 16-18 on the NIH Campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Early career researchers and established investigators came together to discuss the latest research in sarcoma.
- New podcast out now: MyPART physician Mary Frances Wedekind, was interviewed on the Cancer Healthcast podcast about MyPART’s Natural History Study of Rare Solid Tumors and the new national study for rare pediatric cancers coordinated through the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative. Listen here.
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