In 2006, Candlelighters expanded its mission to included research into less toxic treatments for childhood cancers. Targeted therapeutics is a rapidly expanding branch of medical science that has the potential to produce treatments that kill only the cancer cells – not normal cells. First, scientists study the differences between cancer cells and normal cells, then they exploit these differences to target the cancer cells. Research into targeted therapeutics is widespread in adult cancers, but childhood cancers lag woefully behind.
The overarching goal of the targeted therapeutic research is to improve the long-term survival rates for children and adolescents with cancer through the development of new molecularly targeted drugs, while dramatically reducing the long-term side effects associated with current toxic treatment.
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Articles on targeted therapeutics and how the CCCF is campaigning for this new research are linked to below.
ARTICLES ON TARGETED THERAPEUTICS
Candlelighters Expands Mission To Include Research: An article in the Fall/Winter 2006 CCCF Newsletter that announces and discusses Candlelighters’ new mission.
Targeted Therapeutics: An Introduction: An article in the Fall/Winter 2006 CCCF Newsletter that explains what targeted therapeutics means.
Targeting Cancer In The 21st Century: The Gleevec story, by Brian Druker. (From the Spring 2002 CCCF Newsletter.)
CCCF ADVOCACY AND ALLIANCES FOR TARGETED THERAPEUTICS
Targeted Therapeutics Workshop at International Cancer Congress (Fall/Winter 2006 CCCF Newsletter.)
Background to the Workshop for Targeted Therapeutics in Pediatric Cancer: How and why the 2006 Targeted Therapeutics Workshop came about.