Jorrit Enserink
Children with relapsed/refractory (R/R) cancers have poor survival rates and no remaining standard-of-care options. A recent single-center feasibility study showed that functional precision medicine (FPM), which combines rapid ex vivo drug sensitivity testing with genomic profiling, delivers actionable treatment recommendations in over 80% of cases and can improve progression-free survival more than 8-fold.
However, the study was limited in scale, and drug combinations used in treatment sometimes caused serious side effects or negative drug interactions. This proposal addresses those gaps through the following aims: (1) expanding FPM into an international, multicenter study for R/R pediatric cancers; (2) developing a method to identify effective and safe drug combinations before treatment begins; (3) better understand the underlying biology of resistance versus sensitivity of cancer cells to selected drug treatments.
To maximize immediate clinical impact, the study focuses on ~70 already FDA/EMA-approved drugs with established pediatric dosing. This allows for a streamlined ≤5-day testing workflow, immediate access to recommended treatments, and systematic exclusion of antagonistic or toxic drug combinations. The ultimate goal is a universally adoptable pipeline for pediatric oncology centers worldwide.
https://www.barnekreftforeningen.no/nyheter/raskere-tryggere-og-mer-treffsikker-behandling
Simona Maria Migliano
When DNA rings challenge cancer treatment Chemotherapy and radiation expose cells to significant DNA stress, and their DNA can begin to break apart. This can lead to small DNA fragments which have the potential to form DNA-rings. These DNA-rings are known to frequently contain oncogenes and resistance genes, which often make the tumors aggressive and progress faster. Cancer cells which survive chemotherapy or radiation therapy and contain such DNA-rings can be more harmful for the patient and lead to relapse after therapy.
The project aims to identify the connection between DNA damage caused by cancer treatment and cellular side effects. We will investigate whether cancer treatment leads to the formation of new DNA-rings or makes already existing DNA-rings even more aggressive, with the goal of helping to prevent relapse in patients.
https://www.barnekreftforeningen.no/nyheter/ecdna-nar-dna-ringer-utfordrer-kreftbehandlingen