Innovative Treatments
In the 50-year history of Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care (DF/CHCC), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston's investigators have introduced many new treatment approaches leading to improved treatment and outcomes. Our commitment to state-of-the-art technology continually improves the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of all forms of childhood cancer, and our research collaborations and technological resources enable us to offer treatment options unavailable at many other institutions.
Many of our resources are only available in New England through DF/CHCC.
MR/OR
The first equipment of its kind in the United States, this operating room at Children's is fitted with a 15,000-pound mobile magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine that will be brought out from behind doors to take images before, during and after an operation. It will let surgeons remove brain and other tumors with utmost accuracy.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan
Children's is one of the first pediatric hospitals in the country with a PET system. PET is a unique and highly sensitive imaging system technology that provides high-resolution images of alterations in functional and metabolic activity within the body. Since these changes precede structural changes seen by traditional anatomic imaging, PET scans assist in the early diagnosis, staging and assistance with treatment and follow-up of many types of childhood cancer, including lymphoma, neuroblastoma, brain tumors and thyroid cancer.
Proton Beam Therapy
Through the Northeast Proton Therapy Center in downtown Boston, investigators at DF/CHCC have access to this state-of-the-art technology available in only three centers in the United States. Proton radiotherapy can be beneficial for very young children with certain conditions, such as retinoblastoma. This is because this form of radiotherapy significantly decreases the amount of normal tissue exposed to radiation, while delivering precise doses to target organs. DF/CHCC physicians may consider proton beam therapy for certain brain and solid tumors.
Stem Cell Transplantation
In collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital transplantation medicine colleagues, program staff have pioneered the use of defibrotide, a medication that is effective in managing veno-occlusive disease, a life-threatening complication of transplantation.
Our scientific and laboratory research encourages the introduction of new cancer treatment approaches. Some of our contributions to pediatric cancer treatment involve:
Antiangiogenesis
The field of antiangiogenesis, the process of preventing growth of new blood vessels to a tumor, was launched at Children's by Judah Folkman, MD. Pediatric neuro-oncologists at DF/CHCC design treatment protocols that are used throughout the United States to use this process to treat children with pediatric tumors.
Decreasing Toxicity
Program investigators are defining ways to use effective chemotherapy while protecting vulnerable organs, such as the heart, for all forms of pediatric cancer.
Gene Profiling
Molecular study of the genes of children with treatment-resistant leukemia led to the identification of a new disease - mixed lineage leukemia (MLL), and a potential drug for the therapy.
Gene Therapy
DF/CHCC investigators were among the first in the world to use gene therapy to treat pediatric brain tumors. This work includes the use of neural stem cells as antineoplastic agents, which are substances that prevent the development or growth of cancer cells.
Immune Therapy
Immune therapy treatments are designed to stimulate a child's own immune system to identify and destroy cancerous cells on its own. DF/CHCC investigators are using immune therapies, like antibody and vaccines, to treat some types of childhood cancer.
Molecular Studies
DF/CHCC investigators use gene chip analysis and proteomics to design treatments that attack specific tumor components. The field of proteomics encompasses the identification and quantification of proteins, and the effect of their modifications, interactions, activities, and function, during cancer, disease states and treatment.
