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Leukaemias and lymphomas are among the most common cancers affecting children. While effective, modern chemotherapy and bone-marrow transplantation fails to cure a significant minority of patients. Further, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation result in significant immediate and long-term toxicity

It has long been a medical dream to harness the human immune system to reject cancer. Theoretically, this could form a highly effective therapy with little toxicity. Recent advances in genetic engineering of human immune cells can turn this dream into a reality. The CHILDHOPE project is an EU funded translational research program composed of primarily clinician-scientists from different European centers. Our aim is to re-engineer patients' immune system into an effective and safe treatment for childhood leukemia and lymphoma.

The CHILDHOPE project represents an innovative approach in paediatric cancer treatment. We hope to bring new methodologies of genetically engineered T-cells from from bench to bedside (and back). This is an innovative technology as yet never applied in children with advanced or refractory leukemia / lymphoma.

We will initially focus on improving and testing efficacy and safety of anti-leukaemia/lymphoma chimaeric T cells in relevant preclinical models. Next, we plan to scale-up this technology to generate cell doses suitable for a clinical study. Based on biological material obtained from our preclinical models and from children treated with these genetically engineered T -cells, we will study the interface between the hosts tumour and immune cells and use this knowledge to understand the mechanisms of anti-tumour action and to validate novel targets and diagnostic tools specific to children affected with leukaemia or lymphomas.

This work will be carried out by a network of EU-based partners with a broad experience in the field of paediatric haematology and oncology, immunology, cell and gene therapies. We also integrates the international confederation of parents with children with cancer and an SME specialised in the project management.

Partner Organisations

Dr Eve-Marie NEIDHARDT-BERARD
Cellular Therapy, 28 rue Laennec - 69373 Lyon cedex 08 - France
assistant +33-478782843; office: +33-478785100; fax : +33-478782703