ISABELLA SANTOS FOUNDATION – HELEN DEVOS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

ISABELLA SANTOS FOUNDATION GRANT SUPPORTS NEW THERAPY FOR PEDIATIC CANCERS IN A NOVEL CLINICAL TRIAL

Research Focused on New Therapy for High Risk Childhood Cancers

January 22, 2016 – The Isabella Santos Foundation announces a $200,000 grant to support funding of a Phase I/II cutting-edge pediatric clinical trial from the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC). This trial brings a new option for children with relapsed or difficult to treat neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. The drug currently used for Parkinson’s disease, tolcapone, targets these cancers inducing cell death in laboratory models. It will be used in combination with the chemotherapy agent Oxaliplatin. This trial will be available at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte NC, the home of the Isabella Santos Foundation as well as other sites and led by Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“We here at the Isabella Santos Foundation are excited to support new trials that directly impact children who relapse with Neuroblastoma” said Erin Santos, President of the Isabella Santos Foundation. “Our daughter Isabella suffered 5 relapses of in her fight against this deadly disease so we understand the importance of specializing in this area. We are also proud to be a part of funding research that will directly impact our local Charlotte pediatric cancer community and are thankful for Dr. Sholler’s research that expands outside her hospital walls.”

Neuroblastoma is a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system and medulloblastoma is a pediatric brain tumor. Both typically manifests when children are very young, with the average age at diagnosis being 18 months and remain challenging pediatric cancers in need of new therapies. With this grant from the Isabella Santos Foundation, new hope is brought to many families.

“We are incredibly thankful for the support of the Isabella Santos Foundation which allows our research to bring new treatments to children,” said Dr. Giselle Sholler, Chair of the NMTRC and Director of Pediatric Oncology Research at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. “We are hopeful this will make a difference in the lives of families fighting these difficult childhood cancers.”

ABOUT THE ISABELLA SANTOS FOUNDATION

In 2009, the Isabella Santos Foundation (ISF) was established through Isabella’s parents to raise awareness and research funds for Neuroblastoma, and received it’s 501(c)3 status in 2010. This foundation continues to fight Isabella’s fight in her honor and for all children who are fighting Neuroblastoma.

ABOUT THE NMTRC

The Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC) is a group of 25 universities and children’s hospitals headquartered at the Helen Devos Children’s Hospital that offer a nationwide network of childhood cancer clinical trials. These trials are based on the research from a group of closely collaborating investigators who are linked with laboratory programs developing novel therapies for high-risk neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. The NMTRC’s mission is to create a national collaborative effort of researchers, oncologists and family advocates to bring forward new therapies for children with relapsed neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma with the goal of improving the quality of life and survival of children with neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. For more information, visit: www.nmtrc.org. Follow NMTRC on Facebook and Twitter @NMTRC.