cc-TDI Aims to Deliver Five Childhood Cancer Therapy Drugs to Clinical Trial Each Year Beaverton Nonprofit Brings Awareness and Education to Childhood Cancer Research
Portland, OR
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February 16, 2021 09:10 AM Eastern Standard Time
The Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI), a non-profit organization focused on the ‘preclinical gap’ in childhood cancer research, announced its goal to deliver five drugs to clinical trial each year.
Founded in 2015, the nonprofit continues to address a pressing need that receives little attention—a lack of advancement in treatment options for children living with cancer. The lab’s aim is to make childhood cancer universally survivable, regardless of diagnosis.
“For many forms of childhood cancer, we’ve seen little to no advancement in treatment options in the past few decades,” said Charles Keller, Scientific Director at cc-TDI. “We have embarked upon a mission to send more targeted drugs into clinical trials for those childhood cancers that need our help the most.”
Since its inception, cc-TDI has delivered two drugs from publications into three clinical trials for childhood brain tumors and sarcomas and are in the midst of four promising research projects addressing rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma, and other brain tumors and sarcomas – on a two-million-dollar budget. Only 4% of the billions of dollars spent on cancer research annually is allocated for childhood cancer research. Since 1978, only 11 drugs have been FDA approved to be used in childhood cancer treatment, compared to an average of 12 adult drugs approved annually. Alarmingly, 80% of kids who survive their cancer diagnosis live with lifelong side effects from the toxic drugs used in their treatment, made for adults.
“Grassroots labs like cc-TDI are important because we are researching less toxic drugs that will produce fewer side effects on kids and increase their quality of life through survivorship,” said Keller. “Simply put, children and families deserve a research approach that is just as aggressive as the cancers they are fighting.”
By focusing its time, energy, and talents on filling the pre-clinical trial gap, cc-TDI can control which childhood cancer treatments advance to clinical trials. For more information on cc-TDI and how you can help, please visit www.cc-tdi.org.
