Funding Research on Pediatric Cancer Immunotherapy
Among the types of treatment used for childhood cancers, immunotherapy is one of the newest, and it is potentially the best option in many cases. In essence, immunotherapy fights cancer using the patient’s own immune system. While this form of treatment is still evolving, many of the specific methods it utilizes show great promise in helping children and teens with cancer be cured, recover, and return to their normal lives at school and with friends and family.
Not only that, but immunotherapy often has far fewer and far less severe side effects than established treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. This is an essential factor in getting kids the compassionate and effective care they need. At DCG Giving, all of the money we raise goes towards the local member institutions of the Children’s Oncology Group, many of whom are currently working to advance the capabilities and availability of pediatric cancer immunotherapy through clinical trials and other research. You can donate now to help us advance this urgent cause, or read on to learn more about how COG’s work is making an immunotherapy-based cure possible for children and teenagers across the US.
What Makes Immunotherapy an Emerging Treatment?
Immunotherapy is a large umbrella term covering all of the various specialized cancer treatments that work by activating the immune system. This means that many immunotherapy-based methods are still in development, but some of these could be the best hope for children and teenagers suffering from particular kinds of cancer.
For example, adoptive T-cell therapy, which uses white blood cells that are engineered to hunt down tumor antigens, has been shown in previous studies to work in patients with metastatic cancers that have resisted other treatments, including other forms of immunotherapy. Another immunotherapy method that is the subject of research is immune checkpoint blockade therapy, which aims to remove a means that tumors have to “hide” from the immune system. These types of treatment and others may be subjects of some of the many clinical trials conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group at any time, and immunotherapy as a whole holds limitless untapped potential for saving young people’s lives.
How Your Contribution Furthers Immunotherapy Research
Every donation to DCG Giving directly supports COG’s work, whether it’s in immunotherapy development, research on other promising new pediatric cancer treatments, or general assistance and comfort for pediatric cancer patients and their families.
The institutions that make up COG are based in communities across the United States, big and small, and we are proud to fund their tireless efforts to help kids and teens with cancer get better as close to home as possible. We hope you’ll join the fight with us by donating today and playing your own part in curing all forms of childhood cancer.