Expanding Innovative Pediatric Cancer Clinical Trial Access at Stanford
Background: The Stanford University School of Medicine, in partnership with the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, has a reputation as one of the premier pediatric cancer research centers in the U.S. To date, our efforts have primarily focused on conducting research and participating in cooperative group and consortium clinical trials. With the recent recruitment of Drs. Maria-Grazia Roncarolo and Sheri Spunt, two internationally recognized leaders with expertise in conducting early phase clinical trials, the institution's strategic plan has expanded to include translational research and the development of a world-class clinical trials program. In recent years several novel and innovative therapeutics have been discovered at Stanford that have the potential to dramatically impact children with cancer. Project Goal: Our objective is to translate these discoveries into novel therapies for pediatric cancer patients referred to the Bass Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases. Stanford has the intellectual capital and much of the required infrastructure to support such a translational program. With support from our University, Hospital, and fundraising partners, we have obtained many of the resources needed for success -- including two faculty billets for leaders of our cancer immunotherapy and small molecule therapeutic programs. The support of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation will help us to hire key support personnel to manage clinical trials that are currently in development or are planned over the next 5 years. We are confident that robust infrastructure support will ensure the long-term viability and success of our growing developmental therapeutics program.
Project Update - January 2021
The Stanford University School of Medicine, in partnership with the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, has a reputation as one of the premier pediatric cancer research centers in the U.S. Our past efforts primarily focused on conducting research and participating in cooperative group and consortium clinical trials. The institution's strategic plan includes translational research and the development of world‐class investigator initiated clinical trials. To support the implementation of novel phase I/II clinical trials, our experienced personnel manage clinical trials from inception to enrollment through follow‐up. In the past five years, personnel have developed standard operating procedures and quality programs for implementation and conduct of these clinical trials enabling many patients to be treated on novel therapies. Robust infrastructure support ensures the long‐term viability and success of our growing developmental therapeutics program.
