Pediatric Cancer Research

Learning Opportunity

Sarcoma program expands research capabilities

For many years, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has provided outstanding clinical care to children with sarcomas, solid tumors of the soft tissue or bone. With the arrival of Rochelle Bagatell, M.D., in October 2008, a new emphasis on research enters the picture. Bagatell joins Rick Womer, M.D., long-time CHOP oncologist and nationally recognized expert in sarcoma treatment. Together they are shaping a program that will build upon CHOP'S clinical base to expand its sarcoma research activities.

An active clinical program supports a strong research enterprise, making trials of new therapies feasible. CHOP sees 40 to 50 new sarcoma patients each year. As Bagatell notes: "These are complex patients requiring complex treatment." The relationship with CHOP often extends over years and may include multiple treatment modalities.

Using a special travel fund set up by GlaxoSmithKline, more and more families are able to travel from far away to obtain specific therapies offered at CHOP. The result: more patients enrolled in more trials of innovative therapies — investigations that will benefit sarcoma patients everywhere.

Additional donor funding is important for one of the sarcoma program's most fundamental needs: people. The team hopes to recruit more basic scientists to better understand the biology of sarcomas. This learning will help in the development of new, more targeted drug therapies. By logical extension, clinical research is also a priority. New drugs for solid tumors hold great promise and effective clinical trials of these drugs require strong infrastructure. The team hopes to add research nurses and a database manager, as well as a clinical nurse coordinator.

Source: Cause for Hope: CHOP Cancer Center Annual Report 2009