The Childhood Cancer Caucus applauds Dr. Harold Varmus, the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), for announcing the appointment of Dr. Greg Aune, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, to NCI's Council of Research Advocates.
On September 30th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has awarded 15 grants totaling more than $19 million to boost the development of medical device, drug, and biological products for patients with rare diseases, with at least a quarter of the funding going to studies focused solely on pediatrics. $1.6 million will go toward a Phase 2 Study of Poly-ICLC for the Treatment of Pediatric Low Grade Gliomas, the most common type of brain tumor in children.
On September 19, Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced a new pediatric trial for children with cancer. Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice Program (MATCH) trial will enroll children with advanced cancers that have progressed on standard therapy.
