The grant award will allow Nemours to offer additional clinical trials in cancer treatment to more adolescent and young adult patients, expanding access to advanced research that has the potential to improve outcomes as well as quality of life.
Wilmington, Del. (November 19, 2020) -- Clinical trials are a vital part of the research process, and for many kids with cancer, they are their best hope for a cure. To give more patients access to clinical trials, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, has awarded infrastructure grants to institutions across the country, including Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.
Nemours will use the grant specifically in the treatment of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients. Stephanie Guarino, MD, who manages the AYA program at Nemours, said, “We want everyone between the ages of 15 and 39 with cancer in Delaware to get the best care possible. This includes having access to new medicines and clinical trials, access to doctors who can help them stay healthy mentally and physically, and ways for them to connect with other young people going through the same thing.”
The grant award will allow Nemours to offer additional clinical trials in cancer treatment to more AYA patients in Delaware, expanding access to advanced research that has the potential to improve outcomes as well as quality of life.
“The majority of childhood cancer patients are treated on a clinical trial,” said Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of St. Baldrick’s. “Clinical trials offer children either the best-known treatment, or one that may prove to be better. Funding from St. Baldrick’s will ensure more kids have access to clinical trials, giving them a better chance at a cure.”
Sophie Hayes, mother of Nemours AYA patient Eliot Hayes (pictured), is grateful for the advancements that clinical trials support. “Our son is the recipient of such a trial. His cancer presentation was unusual but all experts in the field agreed that the addition of a drug that targeted the specific genetic abnormality of his cancer could be significant in his prognosis. Nemours did not hesitate to apply and implement a clinical trial to give Eliot the best chance, and further the scientific knowledge in this area.”
Dr. Guarino thanked St. Baldrick’s for providing tools to help patients stay healthy in all ways, both during and following treatment for cancer. “I am inspired every day by the strength and resilience of our patients and families,” she said.
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