PHI’s Children’s Cancer Program Plays Critical Role in Health Outcomes, Increased Access to Health Services for Youth

Childhood cancer is the most common cause of death from disease in children. Each year, about 13,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer. At the Public Health Institute, the Children’s Oncology Group brings together more than 10,000 experts in childhood cancer at more than 200 institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.

They support clinical research trials that study and determine the underlying biology of childhood cancers, emerging treatments, supportive care, and survivorship. The Children’s Oncology Group is funded by the National Cancer Institute and is the world’s largest organization that focuses solely on childhood and adolescent cancer research.

80-90% of all children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer each year are cared for at Children’s Oncology Group member institutions and enrolled in one of COGs’ nearly 100 active research clinical trials.

Utilizing Reliable Research to Improve Health Outcomes for Youth With Cancer

Research from the Children’s Oncology Group looked at the effectiveness of medications for  youth who are battling with cancer. In November 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sought data and findings for a drug (brentuximab vedotin - BV) that could be used with chemotherapy for patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma. The FDA utilized data from the Children’s Oncology Group’s Phase 3 study AHOD1331, a randomized trial of 600 patients with high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma. It compared patients who received chemotherapy with radiation treatment to patients who received chemotherapy with BV.

Research findings indicated that BV was an effective medication for treating children with cancer. These findings informed FDA’s approval of the drug—which has resulted in expanded access to this effective medication for all newly diagnosed pediatric cancer patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

Utilizing Groundbreaking Genetic Research to Increase Access to Health Services

In an effort to help increase access to health services for children with cancer, the Children’s Oncology Group is leading a groundbreaking international study. It matches children, teens and young adults (ages 1-21 years) who have cancer with treatment based on genetic changes in their tumor, rather than the type of cancer that they have.

This one-of-a-kind study, known as the Pediatric Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (MATCH) trial, has shown that targeting genetic changes in a tumor may be an effective approach for treating cancer. It has also shown that people with advanced cancer may benefit from genomic sequencing in their health plan for treatment against cancer.

The Children’s Oncology Groups also leads Project:EveryChild (APEC14B1), another genetic research study similar to MATCH. In Project:EveryChild, every type of childhood cancer, no matter how rare, will be studied by the more than 200 pediatric cancer programs of The Children’s Oncology Group—helping to lead the way towards better cures.

The study is part of a national cancer initiative by the National Cancer Institute’s Molecular Characterization Initiative (MCI), and focuses on pediatric patients with brain tumors, soft tissue sarcomas and selected rare cancers, providing a rapid response of clinical results to treating physicians and families in an effort to refine diagnosis, support clinical trial enrollment, and suggest alternative treatment options for patients. The MCI initiative utilizes the Cancer Oncology Group’s Project: EveryChild study as part of their broader efforts and as a mechanism for enrollment, specimen collection and clinical annotation.

These accomplishments were made possible by COG’s partnerships with the National Cancer Institute, Public Health Institute, pharmaceutical companies, COG Member Institutions, and especially the patients and families that volunteer to participate in COG trials.