2014 Rhabdomyosarcoma Pico-course

It was an exciting week for the participants of the 2014 Rhabdomyosarcoma Pico-course.  The

goal was to evaluate progress 2000-2014 in cooperative group clinical trials of new agents for rhabdomyosarcoma.  The students concluded that in such trials >525 patients had been planned, at a potential overall cost well exceeding $4.7M (not counting the expense of the drugs themselves).  Many of the results of these clinical trials are still pending.  That said, this was a very hardworking group of students who really came together for a high-level project and did a terrific job.  

Fishermen helping kids with cancer

This incredible group of commercial fishermen in British Columbia support children with cancer and childhood cancer research while having a fun time. Their website and 2013 herring sale video can be seen at www.fishermenhelpingkidswithcancer.com. 

New & Improved: Patient & Family Wall

We are grateful to the dozens of families who renewed consent forms for the Patient & Family Wall.  This is a very important aspect of our labs' research culture... seeing first hand, every day, those for whom we work towards new treatments in order to "give back childhood".

2013 Rhabdomyosarcoma Pico-Course

We are grateful to the speakers and participants of the 2013 Rhabdomyosarcoma Pico-Course who critically evaluated the 'preclinical gap' in childhood cancer research.  This pico-course had a decidedly sea-faring theme (some participants came from Fishermen helping kids with cancer).  The conclusion? Acceleration of promising clinical trials is possible.   

Megan discusses community partnering

 

Our rhabdomyosarcoma crowdfunding project at the Consano website is described here, and the Megan's short personal introduction can be seen in this video.

crowdfunding !

Please consider participating in our first rhabdomyosarcoma crowdfunding project, "Halting Tumor cells from Spreading by Blocking Hostile Mergers".  More details can be found on the Consano website (new url) here.  

[ update 4/7/13:  See the story behind the founding of the Consano crowdfunding site with Molly's interview Here. ]

2:1 matching dollars for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma

A pharmaceutical company in the Northeast has offered 2:1 matching dollars to fund research on a kinase inhibitor they make which our lab believes will be of benefit to patients with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.  The pharmaceutical company is willing to contribute up to $84,000 to match donations from the community of up to $42,000. 

   

This particular drug (kinase inhibitor) has a good rationale for being important exclusively in the alveolar subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma, and it is rare that we find a partner in industry willing to advance a drug just for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma to the clinic.  The basic science studies we would do (preclinical studies) are the prelude to clinical trial studies that the pharmaceutical company would pay for in full (usually a >$2M investment on their part).

  

For more information, please email Charles at keller@ohsu.edu .  

  

Pediatric Cancer Nanocourse 2012

We are grateful and inspired by the 12 participants that came to Portland for the one-week Pediatric Cancer Nanocourse.  The goal was to create science‐informed liaisons between childhood cancer researchers and the community in order to empower the public to drive the cure of rare cancers. We firmly believe liaisons like these dedicated individuals, many of whom experienced unthinkable loss, are needed to speed the development of new and effective childhood cancer treatments.  We welcome the opportunity to work together with these individuals and the community in this shared mission.

[ update 1/31/2014:  see details of the 2012 Nanocourse peer-reviewed publication. ]

Scientific Writer needed

We are looking for a volunteer technical writer from the community to co-author a scientific paper on childhood cancer research from results already compiled.  This endeavor is an experiments of sorts to see whether we can begin to blend the community with academics to create a seamless and efficient way of moving towards new treatments for childhood cancers.  If you have time and interest, please contact Charles at keller (at) ohsu.edu.   with thanks, the Keller Lab team.  

Graphics Volunteer Needed

We are hoping to work with a volunteer in the community with graphic arts/communication experience.  The project is about 6 weeks long and may take 8-12 hours a week.  If you have time and interest, please contact Charles at keller (at) ohsu.edu.   with thanks, the Keller Lab team