Cancer Archives

New approach improves pediatric kidney cancer outcomes

September 22, 2017

little girl with cancer Wilms tumor, also known as nephroblastoma, is the most common pediatric kidney cancer, typically seen in children ages three to four. Compared to patients with unilateral Wilms tumors, children with bilateral Wilms tumors (BWT) have poorer event-free survival (EFS) and are at higher risk for later effects such as renal failure. The treatment of BWT is challenging because it involves surgical removal of the cancer, while preserving as much healthy kidney tissue as possible to avoid the need for an organ transplant.

A new Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study published in the September issue of the Annals of Surgery demonstrated an exciting new approach to treating children diagnosed with BWT that significantly improved EFS and overall survival (OS) rates after four years when compared to historical rates. Jeffrey Dome, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s National Health System, was co-senior author of this first-ever, multi-institutional prospective study of children with BWT.

Historically, patients with BWT have had poor outcomes, especially if they have tumors with unfavorable histology. In this study, Dr. Dome and 18 other clinical researchers followed a new treatment approach consisting of three chemotherapy drugs before surgery rather than the standard two drug regimen, surgical removal of cancerous tissue within 12 weeks of diagnosis, and postoperative chemotherapy that was adjusted based on histology.

The study found that preoperative chemotherapy expedited surgical treatment, with 84 percent of patients having surgery within 12 weeks of diagnosis. The new treatment approach also vastly improved EFS and OS rates for patients participating in the study. The four-year EFS rate was 82.1 percent, compared to 56 percent on the predecessor National Wilms Tumor Study-5 (NWTS-5) study. The four-year OS rate was 94.9 percent, compared to 80.8 percent on NWTS-5.

“I am very encouraged by these results, which I believe will serve as a benchmark for future studies and lead to additional treatment improvements, giving more children the chance to overcome this diagnosis while sparing kidney tissue,” says Dr. Dome.

A total of 189 patients at children’s hospitals, universities and cancer centers in the United States and Canada participated in this study. These patients will continue to be followed for 10 years to track kidney failure rates. This study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health to the Children’s Oncology Group.

Addressing MB-CLABSI through innovation – and dedication – to pediatric safety

September 18, 2017

Happy girl in hospital bed surrounded by doctors

With mucosal barrier central line-associated blood stream infections (MB-CLABSI) posing a serious risk to cancer and other immunocompromised patients, Children’s National Health System was intent on finding a way to prevent them. Through a focused initiative led by Rose Szeles, M.S., R.N., N.E.-B.C., director of nursing for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, the hospital experienced great success, cutting infection rates by more than half.

This was a daunting proposition. Historically MB-CLABSI has not been viewed as a preventable infection due to the side effects typically associated with bone marrow transplants in this patient population. Sores and mucosal disruption that develops in the oral cavity post-transplant are fairly common and make it exceedingly difficult to keep the mouth clean and clear of bacteria. Without regimented oral hygiene in this type of environment, the mouth can quickly develop bacteria putting the patient at risk of a MB-CLABSI.

“We challenged the notion that we could not prevent MB-CLABSI and set out on a journey to try to prevent these types of infections from occurring,” says vice president and chief quality and safety officer, Rahul Shah, M.D. “With leadership from our nursing teams and the infection control and prevention group working together with the physicians, we were able to approach this issue from a unique perspective.”

In 2013, Children’s National launched a MB-CLABSI prevention program focused around saline rinses to improve oral hygiene. The goal was to keep the mouth cleaner to avoid bacteria from forming and ultimately entering the blood stream.

Children’s National put the plan into action through the following measures:

Provider

Simplified ordering of saline rinses to increase accountability and compliance with the practice and make it easier for providers
Implemented reminders to order saline rinses during daily rounds
Added saline rinses to the Medication Administration Record to drive compliance in administration of the task

Administrative

Saline rinses were chosen as an indicator to be displayed on public-facing quality boards throughout the hospital
Implemented daily audits of the quality board to track opportunities for improving compliance and reducing omissions and errors
Standardized daily medical rounds to include review of the quality boards

Patient/Caregiver

Implemented discussion of saline rinses of the mouth for oncology and bone marrow transplant patients during daily rounds
Standardized education for caregivers of children with central lines

“Through strategic programs like this, our patients are safer and Children’s National continues to be a national pediatric quality leader,” says Dr. Shah.

The Red Badge Project: expediting ED care

September 5, 2017

A red badge allows newly diagnosed cancer patients and BMT patients to bypass security and triage so they can receive lifesaving antibiotics within an hour of fighting fever.

Chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant procedures leave cancer patients with compromised immune systems, leading many to develop life-threatening infections or other complications. In particular, neutropenia, or abnormally low levels of white blood cells that are critical to fighting off infections, is prevalent among this population. Fever with neutropenia can be fatal.

As part of the Children’s National Health System commitment to deliver better outcomes and safer care through innovative approaches, the Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Family Advisory team developed a protocol to rapidly identify BMT and cancer patients with suspected neutropenia to receive antibiotics within 60 minutes of arriving at the Emergency Department (ED). The Red Badge Project was born with the following goals:

• Decrease the median triage-to-antibiotic time in cancer patients with fever and suspected neutropenia or bone marrow transplant patients to 30 minutes
• Increase the proportion of patients receiving antibiotics within one hour to 90 percent

As part of the protocol, newly diagnosed cancer and bone marrow transplant patients receive a Red Badge and education regarding how to use it. If they run a fever and need medical attention, the patient and family present the Red Badge upon arrival at the ED in order to bypass the welcome desk and ED triage. This action accelerates the process, keeps the child from waiting in an area where there are other sick children and ensures the patient receives lifesaving antibiotics as fast as possible.

Work done before the patient walks through the ED doors contributes to the success of this program. When a patient runs a fever, the family is instructed to call the Hematology Oncology Fellow on-call. If it is determined that the patient needs to come to the ED, the Fellow then: 1) receives the patient’s estimated arrival time so that staff can clean and prep a room 2) reminds them to apply their topical analgesia to numb the port site where the antibiotic will be administered 3) reminds them to bring their Red Badge.

From there, swift action is taken. By the time the patient arrives, he or she has already been registered and the appropriate medications have been ordered. The patient bypasses security and triage using their Red Badge as a visual cue and is then directed to a prepped room complete with medications ready for administration.

To date, the median time from triage to administration of antibiotics has decreased nearly 50 percent while the proportion of patients who received antibiotics within 60 minutes of triage improved to 90 percent.

Leveraging that success, the next step is to develop education for non-English speaking families in order to extend the reach of this lifesaving practice.

Advancing pediatric cancer research by easing access to data

August 23, 2017

“This is a tremendous opportunity for children and families whose lives have been forever altered by pediatric cancers,” says Javad Nazarian, Ph.D., M.S.C., principal investigator in the Center for Genetic Medicine Research and scientific director of the Brain Tumor Institute at Children’s National.

Speeding research into pediatric cancers and other diseases relies not only on collecting good data, but making them accessible to research teams around the world to analyze and build on. Both efforts take time, hard work and a significant amount of financial resources – the latter which can often be difficult to attain.

In a move that could considerably advance the field of pediatric cancer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a body that funds biomedical research in the United States, recently awarded a public-private research collective that includes Children’s National Health System up to $14.8 million to launch a data resource center for cancer researchers around the world in order to accelerate the discovery of novel treatments for childhood tumors. Contingent on available funds, five years of funding will be provided by the NIH Common Fund Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program, named after Gabriella Miller, a 10-year-old child treated at Children’s National.

As principal investigators, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will lead the joint effort to build out the “Kids First” Data Resource Center. Children’s National in Washington, D.C., will spearhead specific projects, including the Open DIPG project, and as project ambassador will cultivate additional partnerships with public and private foundations and related research consortia to expand a growing trove of data about pediatric cancers and birth defects.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for children and families whose lives have been forever altered by pediatric cancers,” says Javad Nazarian, Ph.D., M.S.C., principal investigator in the Center for Genetic Medicine Research and scientific director of the Brain Tumor Institute at Children’s National. “From just a dozen samples seven years ago, Children’s National has amassed one of the nation’s largest tumor biorepositories funded, in large part, by small foundations. Meanwhile, research teams have been sequencing data from samples here and around the world. With this infusion of federal funding, we are poised to turn these data into insights and to translate those research findings into effective treatments.”

Today’s NIH grant builds on previous funding that Congress provided to the NIH Common Fund to underwrite research into structural birth defects and pediatric cancers. In the first phase, so-called X01 grantees—including Eric Vilain, M.D., Ph.D., newly named director of the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at Children’s National—received funding to sequence genetic data from thousands of patients and families affected by childhood cancer and structural birth defects.

This new phase of funding is aimed at opening access to those genetic sequences to a broader group of investigators around the globe by making hard-to-access data easily available on the cloud. The first project funded will be Open DIPG, run by Nazarian, a single disease prototype demonstrating how the new data resource center would work for multiple ailments.

DIPG stands for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, aggressive pediatric brain tumors that defy treatment and are almost always fatal. Just as crowd sourcing can unleash the collective brainpower of a large group to untangle a problem swiftly, open data sharing could accomplish the same for childhood cancers, including DIPG. In addition to teasing out molecular alterations responsible for making such cancers particularly lethal, pooling data that now sits in silos could help to identify beneficial mutations that allow some children to survive months or years longer than others.

“It’s a question of numbers,” Dr. Vilain says. “The bottom line is that making sense of the genomic information is significantly increased by working through large consortia because they provide access to many more patients with the disease. What is complicated about genetics is we all have genetic variations. The challenge we face is teasing apart regular genetic variations from those genetic variations that actually cause childhood cancers, including DIPG.”

Nazarian predicts some of the early steps for the research consortium will be deciding nuts-and-bolts questions faced by such a start-up venture, such as the best methods to provide data access, corralling the resources needed to store massive amounts of data, and providing data access and cross correlation.

“One of the major challenges that the data resource center will face is to rapidly establish physical data storage space to store all of the data,” Nazarian says. “We’re talking about several petabytes—1,000 terabytes— of data. The second challenge to address will be data dissemination and, specifically, correlation of data across platforms representing different molecular profiles (genome versus proteome, for example). This is just the beginning, and it is fantastic to see a combination of public and private resources in answering these challenges.”

Children’s National Chief of Allergy and Immunology helps move gene therapy forward

July 21, 2017

Catherine Bollard, M.D., MBChB, Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology, recently shared her expertise on an FDA panel that unanimously expressed its support for a pediatric cancer T-cell therapy called CTL019.

On July 12, 2017, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee unanimously expressed its support for CTL019 – a pediatric cancer T-cell therapy. If the FDA follows the advice from the 10-member Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC) – which included Children’s National Health System’s Catherine Bollard, M.D., MBChB, Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology and Director of the Program for Cell Enhancement and Technologies for Immunotherapy – CTL019 will become the first gene therapy to hit the market.

“Many of these children with recurrent cancer are out of other options to treat their illness,” said Dr. Bollard. “We are encouraged by these findings and the potential for this therapy to improve outcomes and quality of life.”

CTL019 is a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, comprised of genetically modified T cells that target CD19, an antigen expressed on the surface of B cells. Also known as tisagenlecleucel, the therapy targets a single type of cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was created by Novartis.

In clinical trials, CTL019 showed unparalleled effectiveness. Of the 68 patients who received the drug, 52 responded almost immediately, and their cancer disappeared within the first three months. Seventy-five percent of those patients remained cancer-free six months after treatment. The therapy has one main side effect: an immune reaction called cytokine release syndrome, which can be deadly, with extended spiking fevers and other symptoms.

However, because of CTL019’s high efficacy, FDA scientists asked the ODAC panel to focus on the therapy’s safety and manufacturing challenges rather than whether or not it works.

Several committee members, including Dr. Bollard, expressed apprehension about the T-cell subpopulations’ heterogeneity, which could affect safety and efficacy. Another issue for consideration by the ODAC panel was the long-term side effects of CTL019 and the possibility that the T-cell modification could go awry, causing secondary cancers in the future.

Despite these concerns, the committee concluded that the strong efficacy data and the near-term benefits of CAR-T therapy more than tipped the scales in favor of the therapy. ODAC members were also pleased with Novartis’ plan to minimize risk, which includes limiting CTL019 distribution to selected centers with CAR T-cell therapy experience, and extensive, long-term post-marketing surveillance plans.

The FDA is not required to follow the ODAC panel’s advice when making its final decision, but it often does so. A final decision by the FDA is anticipated by late September.

Read more about the story in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Medpage Today and Healio.com.

17 Children’s doctors featured at SIOP

July 5, 2017

AeRang Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Catherine Bollard, M.D., MBChB, and D. Ashley Hill, M.D. are among the Children’s National experts who will be speaking at the 49th Congress of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology.

This October, thousands of pediatric oncologists, researchers, nurses, allied health professionals, patients and survivors will gather in Washington, D.C., for the 49^th Congress of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP). Chaired by Jeffrey Dome, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and Chief of Oncology at Children’s National Health System, and Stephen P. Hunger, M.D., of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the meeting will feature talks by renowned experts in pediatric oncology, including 17 doctors from Children’s National.

Among these expert speakers are AeRang Kim, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric oncologist and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, who will present her latest research on new approaches to local control of sarcomas as part of the SIOP Education Day. Dr. Kim focuses on the development of novel agents and devices for pediatric cancer including pre-clinical testing of novel agents, pharmacokinetic analysis, developing innovative methods for toxicity monitoring and clinical trial design.

Also speaking is Catherine Bollard, M.D., MBChB, Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s National, Professor of Pediatrics and of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences and Director of the Program for Cell Enhancement and Technologies for Immunotherapy (CETI). Dr. Bollard will present a talk as part of the SIOP-St. Baldrick’s Symposium on Cell Therapy for Viral Infections. Her translational research focuses on developing and applying novel cell therapies to improve outcomes for patients with viral infections, cancer and immunologic disorders.

And, D. Ashley Hill, M.D., Chief of the Division of Anatomic Pathology and Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, will be giving a keynote address on DICER1 mutations in pediatric cancer. Dr. Hill first reported the connection between pleuropulmonary blastoma, a rare childhood lung tumor, and mutations in DICER1, setting the stage for our understanding of microRNA processing gene mutations in the development of pediatric cancer.

Other speakers, session chairs and abstract presenters from Children’s National include:

Anne L. Angiolillo, M.D., M.Sc., Director of the Leukemia/Lymphoma Program at Children’s National Health System
Kristina K. Hardy, Ph.D., Pediatric Psychologist at Children’s National Health System
Pamela Hinds, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., Director of Nursing Research and Quality Outcomes at Children’s National Health System
Eugene Hwang, M.D., Director of the Clinical Neuro-oncology Immunotherapeutics Program at Children’s National Health System
Robert Keating, M.D., Chief of Neurosurgery at Children’s National Health System
Lindsay Kilburn, M.D., Neuro-oncologist at Children’s National Health System
Matthew Ladra, M.D., Pediatric Radiation Oncologist for the Johns Hopkins and Children’s National Pediatric Cancer Care collaborative program at Sibley Memorial Hospital
Maureen Lyon, Ph.D., Psychologist at Children’s National Health System
Holly Meany, M. D., Director of the Solid Tumor Program at Children’s National Health System
Marie Nelson, M.D., Oncologist at Children’s National Health System
Roger J. Packer, M.D., Senior Vice-President of the Center for Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine, Director of the Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Institute and the Brain Tumor Institute at Children’s National Health System
Karun Sharma, M.D., Director of Interventional Radiology at Children’s National Health System
Carly Varela, M.D., Oncologist at Children’s National Health System

Children’s National is #1 in Neonatology and Top 10 overall in U.S. News & World Report Survey

June 30, 2017

US News Honor Roll 2017-18 Children’s National is proud to be named #1 in Neonatology in the U.S. News & World Report 2017-18 Best Children’s Hospitals survey. Also, Children’s National was once again named to the coveted Honor Roll, placing them among the Top 10 children’s hospitals in the country.

Being the #1 ranked Neonatology program reflects the quality of care throughout Children’s National because it requires the support and partnership of many other specialties, including cardiology, neurology and surgery. In addition to this honor, Children’s National ranked in the Top 10 in four additional services: Cancer (#7), Neurology and Neurosurgery (#9), Orthopedics (#9) and Nephrology (#10). For the seventh year in a row, Children’s National has ranked in all ten services, a testament to the pediatric care experts across the organization and their commitment to children and families.

“This recognition is a great achievement for Children’s National, affirming our place as a premier destination for pediatric care, and the commitment of our people, partners and supporters to helping every child grow up stronger,” said Kurt Newman, M.D., President and CEO of Children’s National. “I’m particularly proud of our #1 ranking in Neonatology as, in many ways it reflects the quality of care across our hospital. Treating these tiny patients often encompasses many other specialties, including our Fetal Medicine Institute.”

Children’s National is dedicated to improving the lives of children through innovative research, expert care and advocacy on behalf of children’s needs. In addition to being recognized among the “best of the best” by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s National is a Magnet^® designated hospital for excellence in nursing and is a Leapfrog Group Top Hospital. As a top NIH-funded pediatric health system, Children’s National marries cutting-edge research with the highest quality care, to deliver the best possible outcomes for children today and in the future.

Children’s welcomes hematology leaders, expands expertise

June 21, 2017

The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s National is emerging as a leader in Pediatric Hematology, and the recruitment of two prominent physician-scientists to our Division of Hematology and Sickle Cell Disease Program is evidence of that growth and presence on the national platform. Joining the faculty in June are:

Suvankar (Seve) Majumdar, M.D.
Division Chief, Hematology
Dr. Majumdar was born in Zambia, attended the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences and conducted his postdoctoral medical education at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Majumdar is currently the director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Sickle Cell Program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He previously directed the Mississippi Hemophilia Treatment Center and is a recognized leader in hematology and sickle cell disease. In addition to his broad clinical expertise, Dr. Majumdar is an accomplished researcher, and a principal investigator of NIH-funded studies.

Andrew (Drew) Campbell, M.D.
Director, Sickle Cell Disease Program
Dr. Campbell’s distinguished training and career path began at Morehouse College. He continued medical school at Case Western Reserve University and completed post graduate training at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard) and Lurie Children’s Hospital (Northwestern University). He has been director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at the University of Michigan since 2005. His research interests span several topics in sickle cell disease including pulmonary complications, fetal hemoglobin switching in transgenic sickle cell mice, phenotype/genotype relationships and renal complications.

The Children’s National Division of Hematology includes the most comprehensive pediatric blood disorders team in the Washington, D.C., area. The Sickle Cell Disease Program is among the largest in the country, treating more than 1,400 children and young adults with all types of sickle cell disease.

Giving children a voice in clinical trials

June 14, 2017

“When experimental cancer drugs are studied, researchers collect details about how these promising therapies affect children’s organs, but rarely do they ask the children themselves about symptoms they feel or the side effects they experience,” says Pamela S. Hinds, Ph.D., R.N.

Children as young as 8 years old with incurable cancer can reliably characterize the impact an experimental therapy has on their symptoms and quality of life – even at the earliest stages of drug development – making self-reported patient outcomes a potential new clinical trial endpoint, according to a longitudinal validity study led by Children’s National Health System researchers.

Cancer is the No. 1 disease-related cause of death in U.S. children aged 1 to 19, and roughly 25 percent of the 12,400 children newly diagnosed with cancer will die of their disease, the study authors write.

“When experimental cancer drugs are studied, researchers collect details about how these promising therapies affect children’s organs, but rarely do they ask the children themselves about symptoms they feel or the side effects they experience,” says Pamela S. Hinds, Ph.D., R.N., director of Nursing Research and Quality Outcomes at Children’s National and lead author of study published June 5, 2017 in the journal Cancer. “Without this crucial information, the full impact of the experimental treatment on the pediatric patient is likely underreported and clinicians are hobbled in their ability to effectively manage side effects.”

To demonstrate the feasibility of children self-reporting outcomes, Hinds and colleagues recruited children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 with incurable or refractory cancers who were enrolled in Phase 1 safety trials or Phase 2 efficacy trials at four cancer settings: Children’s National, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Boston Children’s Hospital. Using a validated instrument to measure symptoms, function and other aspects of quality of life reported by patients, as well as four open-ended interview questions, researchers were able to better understand what aspects of symptoms and quality of life were most important to patients at this point in their lives and cancer treatment.

Of the 20 study participants, most were male (60 percent), adolescents (65 percent) and white (70 percent). Thirteen (65 percent) had solid tumors. Patients could describe “a good day” as having fewer side effects from the experimental therapy and fewer interruptions to their lives. “Bad days” were marked by interruptions to their usual activities and missing out on spending time with family and friends due to being at the hospital. A few study participants suggested that researchers add questions related to being away from home, family and friends and the ripple effect of treatment on other family members.

“Only by measuring and understanding self-reported symptoms and function in children and adolescents with incurable cancer can we adequately address threats to their quality of life and improve symptom control and supportive care,” Hinds and co-authors conclude. “By giving children a voice in the process, clinicians will be able to better anticipate and manage symptoms and thereby improve life for patients and their families.”

Protecting the hearts of pediatric cancer patients

May 22, 2017

Children’s National has developed a cardio-oncology program to closely follow the heart health of oncology patients to detect and stop progression of heart disease.

The five-year survival rate for pediatric cancers has climbed to nearly 82 percent, but the damaging, long-term side effects of rigorous treatment are prevalent. Cardiac toxicity, specifically the association of several cancer therapy agents with the development of left ventricular dysfunction, cardiomyopathy, dysrhythmia, valve disease and hypertension, is an issue of growing concern. Cardiac complications are the third leading cause of death for childhood cancer survivors, only after cancer recurrence and secondary malignancy. Cardiac mortality is 10-fold higher among this population as compared with age-matched control subjects.

The American Heart Association released a statement in 2013 pointing to the need for closer monitoring of cardiac affects from cancer treatments. Craig Sable, M.D., Associate Division Chief of Cardiology at Children’s National, co-authored the statement titled “Long-term Cardiovascular Toxicity in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults Who Receive Cancer Therapy: Pathophysiology, Course, Monitoring, Management, Prevention, and Research Directions.” The statement concluded that it is crucial to develop an optimal monitoring regimen for this specific subgroup of patients, affirming: “As clinicians continue to learn about the cardiovascular effects of cancer treatment, the importance of primary prevention becomes abundantly clear. The objective of effective monitoring is to identify signs of cardiac disease early enough to potentially prevent, reverse, or slow the deterioration of the structure and function of the heart. We must tailor therapies to decrease the risk of cardiotoxicity while balancing the beneficial effects of the cancer therapy.”

The American College of Cardiology also launched a Cardio-Oncology section dedicated to the subspecialty and noting the need for increased and closer cardiac monitoring for cancer patients. Cardiologists and oncologists at Children’s National came together to address this issue by formalizing a multidisciplinary path of care for patients with malignancies as they enter the care system.

Multidisciplinary care from point of diagnosis

“It is tremendously important that we care for the whole child, including each individual health anomaly. Working closely with the oncology team, we try to balance how we treat their cancer at the same time as managing their heart disease,” says Niti Dham, M.D.

In response to the outstanding need for cardiac observation and follow-up care for cancer patients, Children’s National developed a Cardio-Oncology Program in 2011 to closely follow the heart health of oncology patients to detect and stop progression of heart disease. Led by Niti Dham, M.D., the cardio-oncology program within the Division of Cardiology includes the Cardiology Oncology Blood (COB) Clinic, a special clinic dedicated to pediatric cancer patients. The clinic assesses cancer patients, including bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients, who have been exposed to certain medications or radiation that have shown potential long-term, negative cardiac outcomes. Patients are monitored for any early signs of cardiac changes in hopes to halt or even reverse the disease.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer that requires certain chemotherapies and radiation for treatment, Children’s National oncologists coordinate with Dr. Dham and her team for a cardiac evaluation prior to beginning treatment. Appropriate cardiac screening tests are administered based on the planned cancer treatment regimen. Cardiac health is evaluated regularly throughout the treatment course as well as after completion to continue monitoring for early signs of changes.

“The frequent, close monitoring allows Children’s experts to notice even the slightest differences in the heart, with a goal of preventing progression of cardiac disease,” says Dr. Dham.

The cardiology team works closely with the oncology team through the whole process, alerting them immediately of any changes noted. Together, the subspecialists develop a plan that is safe for each individual patient.

The program also sees patients that have pre-existing cardiac conditions prior to cancer treatments.

“It is tremendously important that we care for the whole child, including each individual health anomaly. Working closely with the oncology team, we try to balance how we treat their cancer at the same time as managing their heart disease,” says Dr. Dham.

Advances in T-cell immunotherapy at ISCT

May 22, 2017

Healthy Human T Cell

T-cell immunotherapy, which has the potential to deliver safer, more effective treatments for cancer and life-threatening infections, is considered one of the most promising cell therapies today. Each year, medical experts from around the world – including leaders in the field at Children’s National Health System – gather at the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Conference to move the needle on cell therapy through several days of innovation, collaboration and presentations.

Dr. Catherine Bollard, Children’s National chief of allergy and immunology and current president of ISCT, kicked off the week with a presentation on how specific approaches and strategies have contributed to the success of T-cell immunotherapy, a ground-breaking therapy in this fast-moving field.

Later in the week, Dr. Kirsten Williams, a blood and marrow transplant specialist, presented encouraging new findings, demonstrating that T-cell therapy could be an effective treatment for leukemia and lymphoma patients who relapse after undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Results from her phase 1 study showed that four out of nine patients achieved complete remission. Other medical options for the patients involved – those who relapsed between 2 and 12 months post-transplant – are very limited. Looking to the future, this developing therapy, while still in early stages, could be a promising solution.

Other highlights include:

Both Allistair Abraham, blood and marrow transplantation specialist, and Dr. Michael Keller, immunologist, presented oral abstracts, the former titled “Successful Engraftment but High Viral Reactivation After Reduced Intensity Unrelated Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation for Sickle Cell Disease” and the latter “Adoptive T Cell Immunotherapy Restores Targeted Antiviral Immunity in Immunodeficient Patients.”
Patrick Hanley engaged attendees with his talk, “Challenges of Incorporating T-Cell Potency Assays in Early Phase Clinical Trials,” and his poster presentation “Cost Effectiveness of Manufacturing Antigen-Specific T-Cells in an Academic GMP Facility.” He also co-chaired a session titled “Early Stage Professionals Session 1 – Advanced Strategic Innovations for Cell and Gene Therapies.”
To round out this impressive group, Shabnum Piyush Patel gave a talk on genetically modifying HIV-specific T-cells to enhance their anti-viral capacity; the team plans to use these HIV-specific T-cells post-transplant in HIV-positive patients with hematologic malignancies to control their viral rebound.

This exciting team is leading the way in immunology and immunotherapy, as evidenced by the work they shared at the ISCT conference and their ongoing commitment to improving treatments and outcomes for patients at Children’s National and across the country. To learn more about the team, visit the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders site.

Catherine Bollard named to Medicine Maker’s Annual Power List

April 27, 2017

Catherine Bollard

Children’s National Health System’s Chief of Allergy and Immunology, Catherine Bollard M.D., has been named to The Medicine Maker’s 2017 Power List, which honors the top 100 most influential people in the world of drug development. Dr. Bollard is featured as a ”Champion of Change,” a category that highlights experts striving to make the world a better place by getting medicines to those who need them the most. She joins notable scientists Frances Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

In the Medicine Maker feature, Dr. Bollard describes the inspiration behind her dedication to cellular immunotherapy and how that led to her team’s breakthrough T-cell therapy that gives complete remissions in over 50 percent of some patient groups. Read the full piece here.

Cell therapy virtuoso: Catherine Bollard

March 27, 2017

Catherine Bollard

In the Medicine Maker piece, Cell Therapy Virtuoso, Children’s National Medical System’s Chief of Allergy and Immunology, Catherine Bollard M.D., discusses why she chose a career in medicine, the personal experience that ignited her interest in cell therapies, and her insights on the current state and future of the immunotherapy field. Highlights from the interview include:

On the promise of T-cell therapy: “We’ve now developed several T-cell therapies that give complete remission rates of approximately 75% and two-year progression-free survival rates ranging from 50 percent to over 90 percent depending on the patient population.”
Regarding the future of immunotherapy: “The field has expanded dramatically over the last 25 years. In particular, T-cell therapies for cancer have grown rapidly and now the field is expanding into other areas, such as regulatory T-cells for autoimmune disease and virus T-cells for HIV. Given what the immune system can do, the applications are almost limitless.”

Dr. Bollard was featured for her role as president of the International Society for Cellular Therapy.

A vaccine approach to tumor cure

February 27, 2017

Anthony Sandler, M.D, is trying to understand how cancer cells can change their behavior and activate the immune system – enlisting the patients’ own defenses to fight the tumor.

Building on their groundbreaking research that found a method to cure neuroblastoma tumors in mice, researchers at Children’s National have been working in recent months on a personalized tumor-specific vaccine approach for neuroblastoma and other solid tumors.

The possibility that such a vaccine could non-invasively cure one of the most common childhood cancers is part of Children’s innovative efforts to address some of the most critical medical research challenges facing the field. Anthony Sandler, M.D., Senior Vice President, the Joseph E. Robert, Jr. Center for Surgical Care, and the Diane and Norman Bernstein Professor in Pediatric Surgery, is leading the research that followed an initial publication in PLOS ONE. Sandler’s team seeks to understand how cancer cells can change their behavior and activate the immune system – enlisting the patients’ own defenses to fight the tumor.

Their research is particularly significant because neuroblastoma, most commonly centered in the adrenal glands, is the third most common tumor in childhood, and the most common cancer in babies younger than one year old. It accounts for six percent of all childhood cancers in the United States, with about 700 children younger than 15 diagnosed each year.

“Historically, tumor vaccines held much promise, but demonstrated little clinical success,” Dr. Sandler and his team wrote in their study. “Thus, the task of establishing an effective anti-tumor response in neuroblastoma has been daunting.” However, with this most recent study finding, Dr. Sandler says this failed promise is changing.

The study revealed that “knockdown’” of a DNA-protein inhibitor, known as ID-2, in aggressive high-risk solid tumors resulted in activation of T-cells, which are white blood cells that have figured significantly in immunity research. Gene knockdown refers to a technique in which the expression of one or more of a cell’s genes is reduced.

The research also focused on using “checkpoint blockade,” a therapy in clinical use that allows for expansion of the immune response against tumors. “The combination of selective gene knock-down in tumor cells and checkpoint blockade produced a novel, potent T-cell triggered tumor vaccine strategy,” Dr. Sandler says.

As Children’s researchers examined the impact of the knockdown of ID-2 protein on a tumor, they implanted N2a, a fast growing mouse neuroblastoma cell line, in the mice. Unexpectedly, Sandler said, “Most of the mice rejected the tumor cells and subsequently were protected against further tumor challenges.”

The researchers also noted that a “massive influx” of T-cells infiltrated the shrinking tumor, indicating that T-cells are necessary for antitumor immunity in this vaccination protocol.

The ultimate goal for Sandler’s team is to work toward potential clinical trials to make further progress in neuroblastoma research, with immunotherapy playing a key role.

Dr. Sandler is the Principal Investigator of the Immunology initiative of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, and has worked in immunology research related to childhood cancers for more than 20 years.

T-cell therapy success for relapsing blood cancer

February 24, 2017

cord blood

A unique immunotherapeutic approach that expands the pool of donor-derived lymphocytes (T-cells) that react and target three key tumor-associated antigens (TAA) is demonstrating success at reducing or eliminating acute leukemias and lymphomas when these cancers have relapsed following hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

“There’s currently a less than 10 percent chance of survival for a child who relapses leukemia or lymphoma after a bone marrow transplant—in part because these patients are in a fragile medical condition and can’t tolerate additional intense therapy,” says Kirsten Williams, M.D., a blood and marrow transplant specialist in the Division of Hematology at Children’s National Health System, and principal investigator of the Research of Expanded multi-antigen Specifically Oriented Lymphocytes for the treatment of VEry High Risk Hematopoietic Malignancies (RESOLVE) clinical trial.

The unique manufactured donor-derived lymphocytes used in this multi-institutional Phase 1 dose-ranging study are receptive to multiple tumor-associated antigens within the cell, including WT1, PRAME, and Survivin, which have been found to be over-expressed in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), B-cell AML/MDS, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and Hodgkins lymphoma. Modifying the lymphocytes for several antigens, rather than a single target, broadens the ability of the T-cells to accurately target and eradicate cancerous cells.

Preliminary results demonstrate a 78 percent response rate to treatment, and a 44 percent rate of total remission for participating patients. To date, nine evaluable patients with refractory and relapsed AML/MDS, B-cell ALL, or Hodgkins lymphoma have received 1-3 infusions of the expanded T-cells, and of those, seven have responded to the treatment, showing reduction in cancer cells after infusion with little or no toxicity. All of these patients had relapse of their cancer after hematopoietic cell transplantation. The study continues to recruit eligible patients, with the goal of publishing the full study results within the next 12 months.

“Our preliminary data also shows that this new approach has few if any side effects for the patient, in part because the infused T-cells target antigens that are found only in cancer cells and not found in healthy tissues,” Dr. Williams notes.

The approach used to expand existing donor-derived TAA-lymphocytes, rather than using unselected T cells or genetically modified T-cells as in other trials, also seems to reduce the incidence of post infusion graft versus host disease and other severe inflammatory side effects. Those side effects typically occur when the infused lymphocytes recognize healthy tissues as foreign and reject them or when the immune system reacts to the modified elements of the lymphocytes, she adds.

“These results are exciting because they may present a truly viable option for the 30 to 40 percent of children who will relapse post-transplant,” Dr. Williams concludes. “Many of the patients who participated were given two options: palliative care or this trial. To see significant success and fewer side effects gives us, and families with children facing relapsing leukemia, some hope for this new treatment.”

Dr. Williams discussed the early outcomes of the RESOLVE trial during an oral presentation at the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation meeting on February 22, 2017.

“The early indicators are very promising for this patient population,” says Catherine Bollard, M.D., M.B.Ch.B., Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology, Director of the Program for Cell Enhancement and Technologies for Immunotherapy (CETI) at Children’s National, and senior author of the study. “If we can achieve this, and continue to see good responses with few side effects, it’s possible these methods could become a viable alternative to HSCT for patients with no donor match or who aren’t likely to tolerate transplant.”

This is one of the first immunotherapeutic approaches to successfully capitalize on the natural ability of human T-cells to kill cancer, though previous research has shown significant success for this approach in reducing the deadly impact of several viruses, including Epstein-Barr virus, adenovirus, and cytomegalovirus, post HSCT. These new findings have led to the development of additional clinical trials to investigate applications of this method of TAA-lymphocyte manufacture and infusion for pre-HSCT MDS/AML, B-cell ALL, Hodgkins Lymphoma, and even some solid tumors.

Javad Nazarian named scientific director of the Brain Tumor Institute

February 8, 2017

Javad Nazarian

Javad Nazarian, Ph.D., has been named scientific director of the Brain Tumor Institute of the Children’s National Health System. Since 2006, Dr. Nazarian has been an active member of the Brain Tumor Institute, contributing to the advancement in understanding pediatric brain tumors.

He has been instrumental in his role as a Principal Investigator in the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research where his laboratory actively investigates the molecular mechanisms of diffuse intrinsic pontine gilomas (DIPGs) and establishes preclinical models of pediatric brain tumors.

Dr. Nazarian has also contributed to the expansion of the comprehensive biorepository at Children’s National, growing from 12 samples six years ago to more than 3,000 specimens donated by more than 900 patients with all types of pediatric brain tumors, including DIPG. Recently he was appointed Scientific Co-chair of the Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium.

Vittorio Gallo named Chief Research Officer

January 12, 2017

As chief research officer, Vittorio Gallo, Ph.D., will be instrumental in developing and realizing Children’s Research Institute’s long-term strategic vision.

Children’s National Health System has appointed the longtime director of its Center for Neuroscience Research, Vittorio Gallo, Ph.D., as Chief Research Officer. Gallo’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the institution’s research strategic plan, as significant growth and expansion will occur in the next few years. Gallo is a neuroscientist who studies white matter disorders, with particular focus on white matter growth and repair. He is also the Wolf-Pack Chair in Neuroscience at Children’s Research Institute, the academic arm of Children’s National.

As Chief Research Officer, Gallo will be instrumental in developing and realizing Children’s Research Institute’s long-term strategic vision, which includes building out the nearly 12-acre property once occupied by Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to serve as a regional innovation hub and to support Children’s scientists conducting world-class pediatric research in neuroscience, genetics, clinical and translational science, cancer and immunology. He succeeds Mendel Tuchman, M.D., who has had a long and distinguished career as Children’s Chief Research Officer for the past 12 years and who will remain for one year in an emeritus role, continuing federally funded research projects and mentoring junior researchers.

“I am tremendously pleased that Vittorio has agreed to become Chief Research Officer as of July 1, 2017, at such a pivotal time in Children’s history,” says Mark L. Batshaw, M.D., Physician-in-Chief and Chief Academic Officer at Children’s National. “Since Mendel announced plans to retire last summer, I spent a great deal of time talking to Children’s Research Institute investigators and leaders and also asking colleagues around the nation about the type of person and unique skill sets needed to serve as Mendel’s successor. With each conversation, it became increasingly clear that the most outstanding candidate for the Chief Research Officer position already works within Children’s walls,” Dr. Batshaw adds.

“I am deeply honored by being selected as Children’s next Chief Research Officer and am excited about being able to play a leadership role in defining the major areas of research that will be based at the Walter Reed space. The project represents an incredible opportunity to maintain the core nucleus of our research strengths – genetics, immunology, neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities – and to expand into new, exciting areas of research. What’s more, we have an unprecedented opportunity to form new partnerships with peers in academia and private industry, and forge new community partnerships,” Gallo says. “I am already referring to this as Walter Reed ‘Now,’ so that we are not waiting for construction to begin to establish these important partnerships.”

Gallo’s research focus has been on white matter development and injury, myelin and glial cells – which are involved in the brain’s response to injury. His past and current focus is also on neural stem cells. His work in developmental neuroscience has been seminal in deepening understanding of cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. He came to Children’s National from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) intramural program. His intimate knowledge of the workings of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has helped him to establish meaningful collaborations between both institutions. During his tenure, he has transformed the Center for Neuroscience Research into one of the nation’s premier programs. The Center is home to the prestigious NIH/NICHD-funded District of Columbia Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, which Gallo directs.

Children’s research scientists working under the auspices of Children’s Research Institute conduct and promote highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research within the hospital that aims to better understand, treat and, ultimately, prevent pediatric disease. As Chief Research Officer, Gallo will continue to establish and enhance collaborations between research and clinical programs. Such cross-cutting projects will be essential in defining new mechanisms that underlie pediatric disease. “We know, for instance, that various mechanisms contribute to many genetic and neurological pediatric diseases, and that co-morbidities add another layer of complexity. Tapping expertise across disciplines has the potential to unravel current mysteries, as well as to better characterize unknown and rare diseases,” he says.

“Children’s National is among the nation’s top seven pediatric hospitals in NIH research funding, and the extraordinary innovations that have been produced by our clinicians and scientists have been put into practice here and in hospitals around the world,” Dr. Batshaw adds. “Children’s leadership aspires to nudge the organization higher, to rank among the nation’s top five pediatric hospitals in NIH research funding.”

Gallo says the opportunity for Children’s research to expand beyond the existing buildings and the concurrent expansion into new areas of research will trigger more hiring. “We plan to grow our research enterprise through strategic hires and by attracting even more visiting investigators from around the world. By expanding our community of investigators, we aim to strengthen our status as one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals,” he says.

Study to evaluate heat-activated chemotherapy drug

January 6, 2017

Children’s National Health System and Celsion Corp., a leading oncology drug-development company, will be the first to launch a clinical study in the U.S. that evaluates the use of ThermoDox®, a heat-activated chemotherapy drug, in combination with noninvasive magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MR-HIFU) to treat refractory or relapsed solid tumors in children and young adults.

The investigator-sponsored Phase I study, which is partially funded by an NIH R01 grant, will determine a safe and tolerable dose of ThermoDox, a lyso-thermosensitive liposomal doxorubicin (LTLD), which can be administered in combination with MR-HIFU. Under the guidance of an MRI, the high-intensity focused ultrasound directs soundwave energy to heat the tumor and the area around the tumor. When heated, the liposome rapidly changes structure and releases doxorubicin directly into and around the targeted tumor.

“There is currently no known cure for many patients with refractory recurring solid tumors, despite the use of intensive therapy, so we need to identify new, smarter therapies that can improve outcomes,” said AeRang Kim, M.D., Ph.D., oncologist and member of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National, who is also principal investigator for the study. “Recent advances in the use of noninvasive MR-HIFU coupled with novel therapies, such as LTLD, may provide us with a mechanism to noninvasively administer high concentrations of the drug directly to the site where it is most needed and avoid toxicity to other areas of the body.”

A First to Treat Childhood Cancer

This is the first time LTLD is being combined with MR-HIFU and the first time it is being evaluated in children.

“Celsion’s experience in combining ThermoDox with HIFU, a noninvasive next generation heating technology, supports this very important research in childhood cancers. From a safe dose, ThermoDox’s proven ability to deliver high concentrations of an effective chemotherapy directly to a heated tumor makes it an ideal candidate for a trial involving children and young adults,” said Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion’s chairman, president and CEO. “This study will further elucidate ThermoDox’s potential in combination with ultrasound-induced hyperthermia, and highlight potential applications of ThermoDox in combination with a broad range of heating technologies that could address an even larger population of patients.”

A Multidisciplinary Approach

The study targeting the treatment of childhood sarcomas will be carried out as a multidisciplinary collaboration between Children’s National, Celsion, and Dr. Bradford Wood’s team at the National Institutes of Health.

This is the latest study from the Image-Guided Non-Invasive Therapeutic Energy (IGNITE) program, a collaboration of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National and the pediatric health system’s Divisions of Radiology, Oncology, Surgery, and Anesthesiology. The goal of the IGNITE program is to improve the quality of life and outcomes for pediatric patients through the development and clinical introduction of novel minimally invasive and noninvasive surgery technologies and combination therapy approaches. In 2015, doctors from Children’s National were the first in the U.S. to treat osteoid osteoma, a benign and painful bone tumor, using MR-HIFU.

ThermoDox is currently in late-stage clinical trials in primary liver cancer and recurrent chest wall breast cancer. It is positioned for use with multiple heating technologies, and has the potential for applications in the treatment of other forms of cancer including metastatic liver and nonmuscle invading bladder cancers.

Brain tumor expert from Children’s National speaks at Society for Neuro-Oncology’s scientific meeting and Education Day

November 8, 2016

Roger Packer

Roger Packer, M.D., Senior Vice President for the Center of Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine and Director of the Brain Tumor Institute at Children’s National Health System, will be speaking at the 21st Annual Meeting and Education Day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. From November 17-20, 2016, the conference will gather neuro-oncologists, medical oncologists, adult and pediatric neurosurgeons, pediatric neuro-oncologists, neuroradiologists, neuropathologists, radiation oncologists, neuropsychologists, and epidemiologists from across the country to discuss the future of neuro-oncology. Dr. Packer will be sharing his expertise in treating neurofibromatosis and pediatric brain tumors. He also will be part of a working group to discuss guidelines for response assessment in PDCT-13 medulloblastoma and other leptomeningeal seeding tumors.

Brain Tumor Institute Director Speaks at Coalition against Childhood Cancer Meeting

November 8, 2016

Roger Packer, MD, Senior Vice President for the Center of Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine and Director of the Brain Tumor Institute at Children’s National Health System, was an invited speaker at the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer meeting at Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory on October 31 and November 1, 2016. This international conference was a unique collaborative effort between multiple foundations, the National Cancer Institute, and industry experts to develop a new path forward for the treatment of childhood cancer. Dr. Packer spoke on “Pediatric Brain Tumors: Where Are We Now” and shared his expertise in treating pediatric brain tumors and what he hopes the future of pediatric brain tumor research will look like. Pediatric brain tumors recently surpassed leukemia as the most deadly form of childhood cancer.