The Childhood Cancer Blog

The Childhood Cancer Blog

Welcome to The Childhood Cancer Blog
from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation!

  • Above, Dr. Patrick Reynolds at The Childhood Cancer Repository in Lubbock, TX. Since its inception, the Childhood Cancer Repository has been powering childhood cancer research effort. As of February 2020, the Repository sent 2910 samples to 484 laboratories in 28 countries.
    Above, Dr. Patrick Reynolds at The Childhood Cancer Repository in Lubbock, TX. Since its inception, the Childhood Cancer Repository has been powering childhood cancer research effort. As of February 2020, the Repository sent 2910 samples to 484 laboratories in 28 countries.
  • Above, Lilly Ibbotson with her family. “We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom.  Families like the Ibbotsons can help accelerate research through tissue sample donation."
    Above, Lilly Ibbotson with her family. “We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom.  Families like the Ibbotsons can help accelerate research through tissue sample donation.
  • Above, staff at The Childhood Cancer Repository process and create cell lines from donated tissue. The Repository currently has 568 cell lines and 105 xenografts. That work will give researchers deeper insight into the specific mutations and biomarkers across these tumors. Because childhood cancer remains such a rare disease, this breadth of data could reveal novel ways to approach treatment if common targets are identified across tumors.   
    Above, staff at The Childhood Cancer Repository process and create cell lines from donated tissue. The Repository currently has 568 cell lines and 105 xenografts. That work will give researchers deeper insight into the specific mutations and biomarkers across these tumors. Because childhood cancer remains such a rare disease, this breadth of data could reveal novel ways to approach treatment if common targets are identified across tumors.   

When Lilly faced surgery after relapsing, her family made the decision to donate extra tumor tissue to research instead of throwing it away. 

“We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom. 

Tissue donation is a critical but often overlooked piece of childhood cancer research. As childhood cancer researchers work to find the drugs that could be cures, they are facing a critical shortage of tissue samples to... Read More

Dr. David Poplack, above, was honored with the first-ever Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Childhood Cancer Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation’s Lemon Ball in January 2020. 

The impact of childhood cancer around the world is immense.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2020, there will be over 300,000 new cases of cancer in children. However, the WHO also believes that this number is undercounted, due to many cases of childhood cancer that may go undiagnosed and a lack of comprehensive childhood cancer registries in some countries.

And for children in low-and middle-income countries, that diagnosis comes with a 20% survival rate, while... Read More

World Cancer Research Day, held on September 24, shines a light on the importance of cancer research.

The global burden of childhood cancer is staggering. 

Every year, an estimated 300,000+ new cases of cancer affect children under the age of 20 worldwide. However, this number is most likely underreported due to childhood cancer cases that go undiagnosed and a lack of comprehensive childhood cancer registries. 

After diagnosis, children everywhere face an uncertain future. In high-income countries, approximately 80-percent of children diagnosed with cancer will survive more than 5... Read More

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