Cancer and Blood Disorders

It’s estimated nearly 86,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) will be diagnosed with cancer this year; in fact, one-third of patients treated for cancer at Seattle Children’s are AYAs.

These 15- to 39-year-olds face the unique challenges of their life stage — finishing high school or college, starting a career, establishing independence, finding a romantic partner and more — with the added pressure of cancer thrown into the mix.

Unfortunately, AYAs have the lowest clinical trial participation rate of all age groups and slower progress in survival improvement than younger and older patients.

Clinical trials are controlled, scientific studies that test the safety and effectiveness of specific therapeutic interventions. They could involve a new drug, a different way of administering chemotherapy or a new surgical technique.

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As a second-year grad student working toward a doctorate degree in the field of health sciences, Emma is as busy as ever.

But for this 23-year-old, originally of Snohomish, WA, facing extraordinary challenges with determination and resilience is a skill she mastered early on.

In 2017, after experiencing extreme bouts of itchiness from head to toe, Emma went to see a dermatologist to get checked out, thinking she might be developing some form of eczema.

During the appointment, the doctor recommended a chest X-ray to potentially check for anything more serious. Unfortunately, the results were everything they hoped it wouldn’t be.

“I had tumors on my heart, lungs and under my clavicles – basically I had them all throughout my chest region,” Emma explained. “I was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and it was like everything in the world around me slowed down. My body gave out and I just fell into my brother’s arms. At 17, my world completely changed.”

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Luna, a Seattle Children’s patient smiles while hearing her favorite song ‘Let it Go’

Seattle Children’s patients, families and staff were surprised by a pop-up performance from students in Yale University’s a cappella group, Mixed Company.

The undergraduate students traveled over 2,000 miles for a series of performances in the Seattle area and made a stop at Seattle Children’s with the hope of bringing joy to those staying and working in the hospital.

A cappella is a style of music that does not use instruments, and instead uses a range of vocal skills to harmonize and perform songs in a variety of genres including pop, rock, folk, jazz and R&B.

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At just 19 years old, Faye, an avid swimmer and college freshman at Northeastern University, found her life plans on hold when she began experiencing fevers and flu-like symptoms.

When her temperature reached 104 degrees, Faye called an Uber and headed to the nearest emergency department.

While at Boston Medical Center, providers discovered Faye had an abnormally low white blood cell count and kept her overnight.

“The minute they walked in, I knew something was deeply wrong,” recalled Faye.

The doctors explained to Faye and her mom, Molly, that her blood was filled with abnormal, immature white blood cells called blasts; they believed she had leukemia.

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In Seattle Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center (CBDC), patients are treated for some of the most complex and rare conditions seen in children, teens and young adults.

Close ties and dual roles between the CBDC care team and Seattle Children’s researchers extends a unique, team approach to treating pediatric patients in their fight against childhood cancer and blood disorders through new diagnostic tests, novel treatments, pioneering clinical trials and generating new insights on the biology of these diseases.

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Emerson, a Seattle Children’s patient, works on her cosmic creation

Space, art and healing is the mission behind one project that is uniting a planetary community of children through the awe and wonder of space exploration and the healing power of art.

As part of a unique space-themed art project between Creative Art Therapies and the Space for Art Foundation, co-founded by NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, Seattle Children’s patients are designing an art spacesuit that may one day have the opportunity to fly to space.

Patients were also invited to create colorful postcards that will be flown by ‘Club for the Future’ on a Blue Origin rocket, and once back on Earth, will be stamped with the phrase “Flown in Space” for the kids as a memorable keepsake.

The special project aims to bring joy and inspiration to children across the world.

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The White House recently convened patients, caregivers, oncologists, researchers and administration officials for the Cancer Moonshot Brain Cancers Forum as the administration moves to advance progress for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

Among the attendees invited was Dr. Nicholas Vitanza, an attending physician in Seattle Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center (CBDC) and the organization’s DIPG Research Lead.

Cancer Moonshot is an initiative that aims to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer.

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Dr. Nicholas Vitanza is the program lead for Seattle Children’s Therapeutics BrainChild clinical trials

Seattle Children’s Therapeutics has launched BrainChild-04, a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial that will be our first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell clinical trial that targets four antigens at the same time, by delivering CAR T cells directly to the brain.

The trial is for children, teens, and young adults with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), diffuse midline glioma (DMG), and other recurrent or refractory brain and spinal cord tumors.

“We believe this is the first CAR T-cell product in the world to target four antigens at the same time,” said Dr. Nicholas Vitanza, a neuro-oncologist at Seattle Children’s and the study chair for BrainChild-04.

CAR T-cell immunotherapy is an experimental treatment that stimulates the immune system to fight disease. The treatment reprograms T cells (white blood cells in the immune system that fight disease) to engage and kill cancer cells.

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At the Cure FactoryTM in Seattle Children’s Building CureTM, cell products for patients enrolled in clinical trials are manufactured on-site in downtown Seattle

Seattle Children’s, an international leader in the effort to better treat cancer in children, teens and young adults by boosting the immune system with immunotherapy, has reached a new milestone by enrolling its 500^th patient in its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy clinical trials in 10 years.

T cells play a key role in fighting pathogens and regulating the immune system. Through a potentially game-changing experimental treatment called cancer immunotherapy, a patient’s own T cells are “reprogrammed” into CAR T cells that can hunt down and destroy cancer cells wherever they are hiding in the body.

Support from more than 24,000 donors in all 50 states and across 17 other countries has raised more than $123 million to date to move this research forward. Historically, only 4% of the federal cancer research budget was allocated to pediatric cancer. In 2021, advocacy efforts helped increase that percentage to 8%, but there is a significant need for additional funding and philanthropy in pediatric cancer research to help scientists advance this important work and open new trials sooner.

On the Pulse looks back at the remarkable stories of Seattle Children’s patients who fought and beat cancer over the last decade, and shares where they are today.

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Enjoli Harris, patient scheduler for Seattle Children’s Sickle Cell Program and “sickle cell mom” with her son, Nehemiah

When patients and families with sickle cell disease (SCD) call Seattle Children’s to schedule appointments, they are greeted by the friendly voice of Enjoli Harris, who is a skilled member of the SCD patient scheduling team and a “sickle cell mom.”

Harris’ youngest child, Nehemiah, was diagnosed with SCD at birth almost 12 years ago and has been receiving care at Seattle Children’s, including at the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC), ever since. The frequent visits have helped Harris not only empathize with the concerns of families, but also better navigate their scheduling needs.

SCD is a group of blood conditions that affect hemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells in the body. In the United States, approximately 100,000 Americans are affected by SCD, most of whom are of African or Hispanic heritage, however the disease can affect anyone, especially people of southern European, Middle Eastern or Asian Indian heritage.

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