Despite remarkable medical advancements over the past three decades, cancer remains the leading cause of disease-related death in children. Children who have been treated for cancer using chemotherapy and/or radiation often experience long-term side effects, such as problems with hormones, bone growth and memory. 

Personalized medicine can change this story. While we have seen remarkable success with precision therapies, unfortunately, today, these therapies benefit only a small number of patients. The Advanced Personalized Therapeutics and Precision Surgery (ATPTS) Program team is determined to transform childhood cancer care. Our research will create a new era for personalized medicine in cancer care, saving more children’s lives while improving their long-term quality of life. 

We are pursuing this goal in three ways. 

1. First, we are developing functional tumor profiling tests that measure the sensitivity of an individual patient’s tumors to chemotherapy. We believe that, when there isn’t a standard of care, this testing in the lab will allow physicians to pick drugs that are the most active and potentially avoid drugs that cause side effects without benefitting the patient.
2. Second, we are developing novel tumor profiling based on sequencing long strands of DNA. This process can more rapidly identify the specific type of tumor in each patient using methylation profiling and rapidly and comprehensively identify genetic drivers of the cancer. We believe this will enable novel uses of precision medicine not previously envisioned, including the use of precision surgery with molecular testing informing decisions while the patient is in the operating room.
3. Finally, there is a lack of drugs able to target the diversity of tumors that develop in children. Our research is focused on identifying new targets for cell therapy in pediatric cancers. By finding these new targets, we will expand treatment options for patients. 

Our research will revolutionize childhood cancer care. Currently, only about 12% of pediatric cancer patients receive precision treatment recommendations based on their genetic targets. We envision increasing this number to more than 50% of patients.

The pioneering initiative brings together multiple CHOP experts:

• Theodore Laetsch, MD, pediatric oncologist who leads both the Developmental Therapeutics Program and the Very Rare Malignant Tumors Program at CHOP and is Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group Rare Tumors Committee 
• Marilyn Li, MD, Vice Chief of the Division of Genomic Diagnostics
• Adam Resnick, PhD, Director of the Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine
• Phillip “Jay” Storm, MD, Chief of the Division of Neurosurgery
• Yi Xing, PhD, Associate Chief Scientific Officer for Omics, Technology & Engineering