National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer Funds Novel Immune Cell Research
Every 32 minutes, a child is diagnosed with cancer – devastating news that shakes families to their core. Now, thanks to a $97,000 commitment from Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer (WOKC), families will have hope for a novel treatment approach.
Dedicated to helping families facing cancer and to funding research toward a cure, WOKC supports work led by Nabil Ahmed, M.D., M.P.H., professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine and a pediatric oncologist-hematologist at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center, that shows an improvement in the T-cell population (white blood cells) and their ability to kill cancer in general.
Once proven beneficial, this research can quickly be implemented into the clinical setting. The work holds promise forimproving treatments, increasing positive outcomes and one day finding a cure for a range of childhood cancers.
WOKC pursues less invasive and effective treatments for pediatric cancers and supports research studies like Dr. Ahmed’s that may not initially receive funding but have potential for improving the lives of children with cancer.
“Pediatric cancers are very different and much more rare than adult cancers. As a result, they do not receive the attention and support they deserve,” Dr. Ahmed said. “By supporting out-of-the-box thinking, programs like WOKC are critical to sustaining pediatric cancer research efforts.”