Sharing Cancer Data, #ZikaVirus, and More…

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Surfing the web, I uncovered these news items worth sharing

  • A recent paper in NEJM discusses the call from global leaders on the importance of sharing cancer data to save lives. The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health argue that sharing cancer data will allow researchers to develop better treatments.
  • Researchers at Northwestern University have found that a new cancer drug for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma may also treat food allergies. This FDA-approved drug is ibrutinib and more on this discovery in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
  • In a recent article published by Reuters, it was reported that UK-funded cancer research scientists will conduct a study to see if the Zika virus can destroy brain tumor cells in hopes of developing new treatments for one of the most difficult cancers to treat.
  • Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis in collaboration with colleagues at California Institute of Technology have developed a technology to scan a tumor sample and produce images detailed and accurate enough to be used to check whether a tumor has been completely removed. More in Science Advances.

NASCAR Legend Brings Precision Medicine to MSK’s Youngest Patients

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Thanks to NASCAR champion and FOX Sports analyst, Jeff Gordon, and a grant from the Sohn Conference Foundation, a new program at MSK is hoping to support the identification of targeted therapies for children and provide access for the children who could benefit from these treatments. According to the organization, the Jeff Gordon & Sohn Precision Medicine Fund is “particularly important in the pediatric space because most cancer therapies are only approved for adult cancers, not childhood cancers or for use in children”, and the $200,000 grant is hoping to bring innovative treatments to these pediatric cancer patients.