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€5.7 million for novel treatment approaches in pediatric brain cancer

No. 37 | 30/06/2017 | by Koh

Children with low grade brain cancer usually suffer many years of distress. An international initiative that is coordinated at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Hopp Children's Tumor Center (KiTZ) at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg has now been established with the goal of changing this. Research teams from Heidelberg and London aim to gain better understanding of the biology of low grade pediatric brain tumors and to use these findings to develop novel treatment approaches. The British Brain Tumour Charity provides funds of €5.7 million to support the project, which was launched in late June.
The Hopp Children's Tumor Center at the NCT Heidelberg (KiTZ) is a joint institution of the Heidelberg University Hospital and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).

Examining tumor cells in the laboratory
© Philipp Benjamin/Heidelberg University Hospital

A child who suffers from low grade brain cancer usually has very good chances of survival. However, therapy is often very long and stressful. In addition, the difficult location of the tumor often makes it impossible to remove it completely. Then there is a danger that it might come back after some time.

Although the disease and its consequences often affect patients throughout their lifetimes, research into low grade brain cancer has not received much funding in the past. At the newly founded Everest Centre, scientists from KiTZ in Heidelberg will collaborate with researchers of UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and the Blizard Institute of Queen Mary University in London to uncover the biological basics of this complex disease and use their findings to develop novel, targeted and gentler treatment approaches.

"The Everest Centre initiative will now enable us much better to investigate low grade brain tumors, which are rather common in children," said David Jones, who pursues research at DKFZ and KiTZ in Heidelberg and coordinates the network from there. "For the first time, we can give this type of tumor the attention that is needed in order to be able to offer affected children more effective and gentler therapies some day."

Low grade brain tumors constitute the largest group of tumors of the central nervous system. Each year, more than 250 children and adolescents under 18 are diagnosed with this type of tumor in Germany alone. Low grade brain cancer arises from transformed cells in the brain or spinal cord. However, the risk of tumor cells spreading to other parts of the body is low.

The name of 'Everest Centre' was inspired by a spectacular activity that a father of an affected child undertook to draw attention to his son's debilitating disease story. In a group of 14 skiers, he climbed alpine slopes for four days until they had climbed the equivalent of the height of Mount Everest, thus raising £3 million for the Brain Tumour Charity.

An image for this press release is available at:
http://www.dkfz.de/de/presse/pressemitteilungen/2017/bilder/everest-project.jpg

Caption: Examining tumor cells in the laboratory

Note on use of images related to press releases
Use is free of charge. The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) permits one-time use in the context of reporting about the topic covered in the press release. Images have to be cited as follows: "Source: Philipp Benjamin/Heidelberg University Hospital".
Distribution of images to third parties is not permitted unless prior consent has been obtained from DKFZ's Press Office (phone: ++49-(0)6221 42 2854, E-mail: presse@dkfz.de). Any commercial use is prohibited.

With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.

To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:

  • National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT, 6 sites)
  • German Cancer Consortium (DKTK, 8 sites)
  • Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ) Heidelberg
  • Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON Mainz) - A Helmholtz Institute of the DKFZ
  • DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim
  • National Cancer Prevention Center (jointly with German Cancer Aid)
The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.

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