FALL 2020 NEWSLETTER

Sarcoma News Corner

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and brings some exciting research news for childhood sarcomas! Camptothecan chemo agents such as irinotecan or topotecan are standard parts of treatment for some pediatric sarcomas, including rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, but tumors often become resistant to these drugs. Now researchers have developed a drug precursor that may be more effective and less toxic, based on mouse studies.

Developing new drugs for cancers, especially rare cancers, depends on patients being able to enroll in clinical trials. But as this article points out, COVID-19 has been a barrier to access to clinical trials and new drug development. If you are interested in finding out about sarcoma clinical trials, the Sarcoma Alliance can help. 

There have been some potentially great advances immunotherapy for sarcomas.  A type of immune cell called a dendritic cell appears to be involved in getting other immune cells to work to attack tumors, based on research on fibrosarcoma in mice. If this is true for humans as well, it could make immunotherapy more effective for sarcoma. This editorial article links to the technical article.

Inspiring story of a high school rhabdomyosarcoma survivor, Jaedyn McKinstry, who has worked hard to get back to playing football. Go, Jaedyn! 

WOW! A new targeted drug, TK216, completely eliminated metastatic Ewing sarcoma in two patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial. This is AMAZING because Phase 1 studies usually focus on safety and look for any efficacy as a plus.

Another potential advance in sarcoma Immunotherapy. A combination of a checkpoint inhibitor and an antibody to the protein TREM2 completely eliminated sarcomas in mice! Hope this works similarly in people.  

Virtual Sarcoma Exchange

This weekend, October 3rd & 4th, 2020, we will be hosting the third annual Sarcoma Exchange conference! The Sarcoma Exchange is an educational weekend dedicated to sarcoma patients, survivors, and the people who support them. Participants will have the opportunity to attend virtual seminars on topics ranging from targeted therapy to resiliency. If you haven't already signed up, it's not too late! Click below to register or learn more about the event. 

Thank You, Sponsors! 

We would also like to give a big thank you to all of our Sarcoma Exchange sponsors who have helped to bring this conference to life. Thank you for your dedication to supporting the sarcoma community.