By Alexandra Uster | Project Leader
In the early 1970s, childhood leukemia was usually fatal. Today, thanks to intensive research efforts, children’s chances of recovery are good to very good. Nevertheless, every fifth child does not respond to the therapies currently available and suffers a relapse. These relapses are very difficult to treat and unfortunately, a cure is often not possible. For Prof. Jean-Pierre Bourquin it is therefore imperative to continue to improve therapies for childhood leukemia. "A curing-rate of 80 % sounds excellent, but at the same time, it means that one out of five children will not survive. That is unacceptable."
In our new podcast (available in German), the physician and researcher talks about the medical and personal challenges he faces. As head of Oncology at the University Children's Hospital Zurich, he works with children with cancer on a daily basis and experiences the effects of the disease first hand. "It is comparable to a challenging, high-risk mountain climb for everyone involved – the child, parents, family and medical staff. Together, we form a team." Jean-Pierre Bourquin accompanies the children and their families on this alpine climb and masters the highs and lows with them.
In addition to his clinical work, Jean-Pierre Bourquin is a highly engaged scientist dedicated to improving the chances of recovery for patients with childhood leukemia. "We need to understand why it is possible for individual leukemia cells to survive cancer therapy and spread again after therapy ends." He is convinced that this knowledge will help to specifically attack resistant cells and prevent relapses in the future.
To find out more about Jean-Pierre Bourquin, his day-to-day work life and his passion about research, listen to the podcast episode 9: www.krebsforschung.ch/podcasts
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