Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/635316
t m c » p u l s e | j a n / f e b 2 0 1 6 32 B y S h a n l e y C h i e n T he new year is looking bright for a Baylor College of Medicine pediat- ric oncologist as he shines a light on a rare childhood cancer in hopes of cur- ing children affected by neuroblastoma. Andras Heczey, M.D., assistant pro- fessor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Cancer Center, received a four-year, $583,000 Mentored Research Scholar Grant in December 2015 from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to support his research in developing an immunotherapy treatment approach for neuroblastoma. The ACS grant, which was funded by NBC's Today Show viewers through its Shine a Light campaign, will help support Heczey and his team's endeavor to genetically engineer natural killer T lymphocytes (NKTs), a unique subset of immune cells found in the blood, to eliminate neuroblastoma. The Shine a Light campaign was launched by the Today Show in 2014 to help support and raise money for differ- ent causes and communities in need. Co-host Hoda Kotb chose pediatric cancer as her cause, with all charitable donations and support going toward the American Cancer Society. "First and foremost, we are honored to work together with the ACS. When we heard that, actually, the funding is coming from the Today Show, that's an even bigger honor," Heczey said. "The reason why this is such a unique approach is because this will be the first therapeutics for children with this cell subtype in the world. I think we will be very proud of and happy to develop this together at the end." Neuroblastoma is a rare type of cancer that develops in immature nerve cells of the sympathetic nervous system. As part of a fetus' normal development process, newly born nerve cells—called neuroblasts—gradually I've always been passionate about research, and I felt that seeing patients going through lengthy, toxic therapies and sometimes not being cured was not something I could accept. — ANDRAS HECZEY, M.D. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Cancer Center Andras Heczey, M.D., studies neuroblastoma cell lines that he and his team are growing for further research. Shining a Light on Neuroblastoma A GRANT FOR MORE THAN HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IS HELPING DOCTORS PAVE THE WAY TO CURING PEDIATRIC CANCER WITHOUT THE CHEMO form into mature nerve cells and fibers that function within the sympa- thetic nervous system. While most neu- roblasts typically mature or disappear by birth, those that continue to grow and accumulate form a neuroblastoma tumor. The cancer affects approximately 700 children—primarily those under the age of 10—in the United States each year. Though relatively rare, neuroblas- toma is the third most common cause of cancer-related pediatric deaths, following acute lymphocytic leukemia and cancers of the brain and central nervous system. Because treatment for neuroblastoma involves physically and mentally taxing procedures with severe side effects, such as surgery, chemo- therapy and radiation therapy, Heczey said it's important to develop innova- tive treatment alternatives. "Obviously, there's a big need to find novel treatments that are non-toxic, safe and effective," he said. "We all have some idea that chemotherapy, in gen- eral, has pretty significant side effects. We all know about hair loss, nausea and