Cancer and Research

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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PART ONE: From witnessing exceptional care and compassion given to children in their own lives, to receiving treatment first-hand, this weekly series features Seattle Children’s employees and the life experiences that drove them to pursue careers in healthcare.

Sofia Carlo was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma as a child

Shortly after Sofia Carlo finished the sixth grade, she started experiencing bouts of intense back pain.

“I went to see my primary care provider who thought I may be developing some scoliosis,” she recalled. “Upon receiving that scoliosis X-ray, I was referred for an MRI because the radiologist noted on my X-ray that I had osteophyte on a portion of my vertebra.”

Osteophyte is an abnormal bone growth, also known as a bone spur. Within a week of Carlo’s MRI, she was being treated at Seattle Children’s where she received a biopsy.

“That MRI revealed a mass growing in my spine. I was then officially diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma bone cancer at just 12 years old and was getting chemotherapy within two weeks of that original scoliosis X-ray,” she said.

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Seattle Children’s Research Institute: Building Cure/ Photograph: Paul Dudley

On Thursday, September 8, 2022, Building Cure was lit up in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

As part of the celebration, Seattle Children’s Foundation and Guild Association hosted an event at the space to recognize and thank donors who support pediatric cancer care and research. It was also an opportunity for supporters to meet, engage, and hear updates from Seattle Children’s cancer leaders on the care and research progress we have made, and plans for the upcoming year.

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Dr. Abby R. Rosenberg, former director of the Palliative Care and Resilience lab at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute

Dr. Abby R. Rosenberg, former director of the Palliative Care and Resilience (PCAR) lab at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI); an associate professor of pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Washington (UW); director of pediatrics at the UW Cambia Palliative Care Center of Excellence; and director of survivorship and outcomes research in pediatric oncology at the UW, has been awarded the 2021 Trish Greene Quality of Life Award by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The prestigious award was presented to Dr. Rosenberg in an intimate ceremony in Seattle Children’s new Forest B building and honors those who have dedicated their career to research that improves the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.

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New “Forest B” Building Features More In-Patient and Operating Rooms, Cancer and Blood Disorders Care Facilities and more

On June 1st, Seattle Children’s opens the latest addition to the hospital campus — a building called “Forest B.”  Forest B is a project over 10 years in the making and will add an additional 310,000 square feet of space to the hospital campus.  

“Forest B is a critical addition to Seattle Children’s, given our region’s incredible historic and anticipated growth,” said Mandy Hansen, senior director of planning, design, and construction at Seattle Children’s. “The building gives our care teams the space they need to provide lifesaving and life-changing treatments, surgeries and procedures to even more patients in the coming years. The thoughtful design will also help us integrate more of our breakthrough research into the clinical care environment as we tirelessly work toward cures.”  Read full post »

For the past 15 years, Seattle Children’s Research Division has been at the forefront of breakthrough innovations. From new drugs to treat cystic fibrosis, to first-in-the-nation use of laser ablation for epilepsy and brain tumors to remove unwanted cells, the research division is advancing our mission to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible.

Here, we take a look at some of the achievements of the past decade-and-a-half.

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Sammy Loch began experiencing debilitating headaches in 2009. She was a sophomore in high school at the time. When she went to see her primary care provider, they diagnosed her with migraines and prescribed medication to help dull the pain. When her migraines persisted, her doctor recommended Loch get an MRI to rule out anything more insidious.

Days before the MRI, Loch got dressed in a beautiful purple gown, her curly hair bounding in tight curls just at her shoulders. She had been looking forward to the homecoming dance for weeks. She was all smiles, but the throbbing pain in her head was still there. She powered through the dance, determined to have fun. She was completely unaware her world would soon be turned upside down as she danced in the high school gym surrounded by her friends.

On Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009, Loch went in for an MRI.

“The technician was so bubbly and nice,” Loch said. “She told me about the elaborate costume she was working on because Halloween was only a few days away. I remember everything about her demeanor changed when she came back in the room after my scan. My heart sank. I knew something was seriously wrong.”

That night around 8 p.m., her family got a call. Her mother answered, repeating aloud what the voice on the other end of the line was saying. “There’s a mass. You need to go to Seattle Children’s as soon as possible.”

Everything seemed to stop as those words hung heavy in the air.

“It’s cancer,” Loch said. “I just knew it.”

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