How did an almost uniformly fatal disease become a largely curable one? Talented research physicians and scientists across the country were obviously responsible for the success. But so was the American taxpayer. Research funding from the National Cancer Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health, drove dramatic changes in the treatment of children with cancer.
It's a heartening story, but it has a sobering epilogue. Even though the outlook for children with cancer has improved, cancer remains the leading cause of death from disease among children. And although we now cure almost four out of five children diagnosed with cancer, we do so with drugs that were discovered more than 30 years ago. We often have to administer these chemotherapeutic drugs in high doses, and their side effects can be severe, sometimes leading to lifelong challenges for childhood cancer survivors.
We are, however, entering an era of unprecedented discovery. We now have the tools to uncover the underlying basis of all childhood cancers - and therefore the potential to transform the way we treat children with these dreaded diseases.
A nationwide team of physicians, scientists, nurses, psychologists, and other health professionals is poised to fundamentally improve the outcomes for children with cancer. Through the National Cancer Institute-funded Children's Oncology Group, we have linked thousands of experts from virtually every childhood cancer program in the country to an unprecedented collaborative effort focused on turning today's science into cures.
