Scientia: Dr Peter Houghton – Novel Therapeutics For Childhood Solid Tumours

Dr Peter Houghton’s group implements preclinical trials to identify new drugs that may be effective and less toxic treatments against childhood cancers. From patient-derived xenografts in immunodeficient mice to utilising canine cancer patients as models, they have identified over 80 new drugs or drug combinations for the treatment of these diseases.

Solid tumours in children

Approximately 12,400 cases of cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. annually in individuals under 20 years of age. Solid tumours comprise approximately 30% of all childhood cancers. There are critical and unique aspects surrounding the study of paediatric tumours as compared to adult tumours, one of which is that many of the most common paediatric cancers are rarely observed in adults. Some of these include osteosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms’ tumour, and neuroblastomas. Complicating the discovery of novel therapeutic options for these tumours are their low incidence rate, exponentially increasing the time for successful clinical trials to take place. For instance, only approximately 250 cases of Ewing’s sarcoma are diagnosed in the US annually. Currently, available chemotherapeutic or surgical protocols, while curative in the majority of patients, are often toxic and invasive, calling for further advancement in the field of therapies to treat childhood cancers.

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Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to understanding its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer by discovering, developing, and disseminating new scientific knowledge. Our mission consists of three key areas — research, clinical, and education.

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