Peer Reviewed Cancer
Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program – 18 Cancer-Related Topics in FY24, Including Pediatric Brain Cancer
September 30, 2024
Brain and other tumors of the central nervous system are the most common cancer in children from birth to age 19 in the United States, accounting for an estimated 30,766 new cases and 15,337 deaths in 2020.
Since Congress established the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program in fiscal year 2009, the program focused funding on innovative research to support Service Members and their Families, Veterans and the American public. In FY24, Congress appropriated $130 million to the PRCRP to conduct research into 18 cancer-specific topic areas, including pediatric brain tumors.
“My biggest hope is that the research we are funding moves the needle for treatment options for those Americans who desperately need it,” LeAnn Jackson, an FY24 PRCRP programmatic panel member, said.
Jackson contributes her perspective to the PRCRP as an individual directly impacted by cancer. In 2008, her youngest son, Cameron, received a brain tumor diagnosis at the age of six. Cameron underwent surgery to remove the tumor, followed by 31 days of radiation and four rounds of high-dose chemotherapy. For Cameron, these standard of care treatments initially resulted in remission until a routine MRI in March 2011 detected cancer in his spinal fluid. Cameron died in November 2011.
“Cancer has changed every aspect of my life,” Jackson said.
PRCRP’s Initial Funding to Support Early Findings Lays Foundation for Clinical Translation
Since FY09, the PRCRP received a total of $1.045 billion in congressional appropriations. The program funds preclinical research, clinical research and clinical trials to address critical gaps in cancer research, including the need for improved therapeutics that reduce short-and long-term neurocognitive and physical side effects.
PRCRP-funded early-stage research into pediatric brain tumors laid the foundation for ongoing clinical testing of novel therapeutics that effectively kill cancer and tumor cells with less impact on other parts of the patient’s body.
RNA-Nanoparticle Vaccines for Pediatric Gliomas
An FY16 PRCRP-funded study, led by Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D. at the University of Florida, investigated RNA-nanoparticle vaccines as an approach to teach the immune system to attack and kill diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma tumor cells. Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, an aggressive tumor on the brainstem, typically affects children, with an estimated 200 to 300 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States.
Sayour and his team developed personalized vaccines by loading nanoparticles with tumor- specific RNA collected from individual tumors. The team validated the safety and activity of the vaccines in small and large animal models of glioma and obtained FDA approval to initiate a first-in-human study for children with fast-growing gliomas.
The success of the PRCRP’s investment into this targeted therapeutic approach contributed to the initiation of a phase 1 clinical trial, funded by other sources, evaluating the feasibility and safety of RNA-nanoparticle vaccines in children and adults with newly diagnosed brain cancer. The trial began recruiting patients in October 2021 and expects to continue recruitment through 2030.
If successful, RNA-nanoparticle vaccines could not only slow progression of tumor growth for pediatrics, adolescents and young adults diagnosed with brain cancer, but also may lead to cancer remission without recurrence.
The PRCRP Prioritizes the Voice of Those Impacted by Cancer
The CDMRP remains dedicated to funding scientific research to transform health care and incorporates the perspective of cancer community members who enrich the scientific review process.
Jackson said she looks forward to participating in PRCRP review meetings each year. She said that she enjoys reading the cutting-edge science in the field during the PRCRP’s programmatic reviews.
“Someone once told me they were very impressed with the way I had handled everything,” Jackson said. “But it’s not past-tense. Once cancer hits your life, it’s with you forever.”
Last updated Friday, September 27, 2024