Physical Health Brazil Project #26672

Better chances for childhood cancer in Brazil

by GRAACC - Support Group for Adolescents and Children with Cancer

Better chances for childhood cancer in Brazil

Project Report | Mar 9, 2022
Personalized medicine: we have genetics as an ally

By Mariane Rodrigues - Target Comunicacao | Project Leader

During its 30 years of existence, our institution has been incessantly researching new possibilities to further increase the average rate of cure for childhood cancer, which is over 70% in our hospital, above the national average of 64% (reported by the Brazilian National Cancer Institute). Currently, the strategy that emerges as one of the most promising in the search for the best clinical outcome in fighting the disease is genetic sequencing, better known in the scientific community as Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). It is a technique that allows investigating and knowing the genetic information of a biological material, such as a sample from a tumor or bone marrow. This means learning the code that reveals the “intimacy of the cell” and, founded on such discovery, carrying out complementary investigations, not only bringing new knowledge about diseases, but also enabling options for a more personalized treatment. In practice, it is as if each tumor had its own catalogued “identity”, with specific protocols for dealing with the different types of childhood cancer.

The refined diagnosis enables oncologists to choose a more assertive treatment protocol, based on procedures effectively adopted in previous cases, and also based on genetic events identified in that patient's sample. NGS has greatly expanded treatment possibilities, particularly when combined with the scientific investigations already being conducted in our hospital laboratory of genetics, inaugurated 20 years ago as a center of excellence for the specialty. “With NGS, we were able to help several patients, by determining the tumor diagnosis, as in 50 cases of sarcoma, 77 cases of central nervous system tumors, and 70 cases of leukemia. Since 2001, we have offered a type of investigation considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of leukemias: the classical cytogenetics. Starting in 2018, we have complemented the study with another methodology, a panel of genetic events investigated by fluorescent in situ hybridization, which raised our investigations to international levels”, explains Dr. Silvia Toledo, geneticist and coordinator of our laboratory of genetics.

The laboratory has been a protagonist in conducting robust research and studies, both national and international, with more than 80 scientific articles published or in the process of being published, nine book chapters, and several awards received. In addition, the department contributes to the training of healthcare professionals in specialization, master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral degrees. We have created and maintain a tumor bank, considered one of the largest in Latin America, where we collect and catalogue samples of tumors and molecules from patients. This bank has the raw material that today allows us to perform NGS and safely contribute to precision medicine, which improves the clinical outcome for patients.

Another relevant factor is that knowledge of the genome represents a huge advance in the field of research, stimulating the development of new drugs with individualized responses, in order to overcome the genetic alterations present in the most common neoplasms in childhood and adolescence: leukemias, central nervous system tumors, sarcomas, neuroblastomas and retinoblastomas. This year we are starting the process of expansion of the NGS project, carrying out genetic sequencing of the patient and not just the tumor. “There is a promising future in our mission to provide our children and adolescents with the most advanced and best possible treatment and quality of life”, celebrates Dr. Silvia. We know that there is still a lot to be done and researched to further improve cure rates and move forward in the fight against childhood and adolescent cancer in the country, but our hospital is always focused on the future of pediatric oncology, expanding precision medicine, as well as investing in knowledge and technological innovation.

Permalink

Nov 1, 2021
Three decades saving lives

By Niti Takemoto | Project Leader

Guilherme is 41 years old now, although he and GRAACC crossed paths when he was only 14 years old and lived in Mococa, a small town on the countryside of Sao Paulo, Brazil. As a teenager, he had plenty of friends and loved to practice sports. That is why he was not too surprised when he noticed a little swelling on his left foot, figuring it was just another common wound. As time passed and he could not feel any kind of healing, he looked for medical assistance. “In the beginning they thought it was a cyst, but when they performed a puncture, blood came out and I started to worry”, he states. The diagnosis revealed a Ewing sarcoma, a kind of cancer that affects the bones and soft tissues. In the case of Guilherme, the tumor was located in a cartilage area and he needed surgery.

His grandfather, who was a doctor and part of one of the most respected Medical colleges in Brazil (UNIFESP), was the one that recommended GRAACC. “At that time, Dr. Sergio Petrilli attended me and along with his co-workers he saved my leg and healed me”, he remembers. Besides the physical aspect, the illness also affected his emotional health because he had to leave school and move from his city of birth only with his mother. He had to cope with the risk of losing his leg and, for a period during the treatment, his weight reached 52 pounds.

“Although it may sound like a cliché, if I could say something to anyone who is going through cancer treatment, it would be this: do not stop dreaming. Thinking about being back on the sports court, the swimming pool or surfing kept me motivated during the chemo sessions that lasted for a year and two months in GRAACC”, he advises. In the end of the treatment, it was possible to keep his leg and therefore heal him completely. Three months after his discharge, he was practicing sports already. Six months after that, he became champion in a tennis event held in the town he lived. “I am a tennis and physical teacher for 20 years now. I chose this profession also to challenge myself”, he says. Nowadays he lives with his wife in Balneario Camburiu, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Guilherme is one of the thousand patients that were able to heal from cancer thanks to the help from donators, like you, for the last 30 years. Stories like these reinforces our belief that GRAACC exists to offer a future for another thousand children and teenagers suffering from cancer.

Permalink

Jul 4, 2021
Otavio's cure

By Niti Takemoto | Project Leader

Otavio was still a baby when a small lump appeared on his forehead. Something common among children, this swelling could be the result of a typical injury of someone learning to walk, or even an insect bite. This is why Otavio’s mother at first treated it with an ice pack.

But after two days, as the lump was still there, she looked for a pediatrician in the city where she lives, in the interior of the State of São Paulo. “The doctor first asked us for X-Ray, then an ultrasound, a CT scan and an MRI scan. He did not have much experience with cancer in children, because it is rare, but considered this possibility. I was then referred to an oncologist, who recommended GRAACC hospital for the specialized treatment,” recalls Joseane, the boy’s mother.

It was all very fast. The appointment with the oncologist was on a Friday afternoon and on Monday morning the family arrived at GRAACC hospital, where Otavio was seen by doctors and a multiprofessional team with experience in the type of tumor that had been diagnosed: a stage 4 neuroblastoma The lump on his forehead was actually a sign of a metastasis of the disease.

“Unlike what many people imagine, a metastatic cancer can be cured and does not mean a new cancer, but rather the proliferation of a primary tumor, which happens when cancer cells spread to other healthy tissues. This requires specialized treatment and, the sooner the diagnosis is made, the greater the possibilities of cure,” explains Dr. Eliana Caran, a pediatric oncologist specialized in the treatment of neuroblastoma at GRAACC hospital.

The treatment lasted more than one year. Otavio had chemotherapy, underwent an autologous bone marrow transplant, had radiotherapy sessions, everything inside GRAACC Hospital.

Today, at the age of seven, smiling and full of energy, Otavio is cured and only returns to GRAACC Hospital for exams and medical visits that ensure everything remains fine.

And this is why GRAACC exists: to provide a whole future for children like Otavio.

Be a donor and help us continue to offer all chances of cure to thousands of children and adolescents with cancer.

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.