Current Research Initiatives
Two Charities Team Up to Improve Outcomes for Rare Childhood Brain Cancer
Tali’s Fund is proud to partner with Hope4ATRT to support a ground-breaking research initiative at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital. This initiative aims to increase survival rates while decreasing lifelong side effects for young children with ATRT. Our research team will use cutting-edge technology to detect tumour DNA in spinal fluid. They hope to identify biological markers in the DNA that can predict treatment response and determine which kids can be treated successfully without harmful radiation. This could also pave the way for more targeted treatment options for other types of childhood brain cancers.
Dr. Annie Huang has been awarded the 2023 Inaugural DECRYPT Research Grant for Rare Pediatric Brain Tumours!
In 2022, Tali’s Fund partnered with six other Canadian charities to create the Defeating Embryonal Cancer in Young People Together (DECRYPT) Research Grant. This initiative could lead to a significant improvement in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of childhood embryonal brain tumours.
“Tali’s Fund has been helping to support the research of Dr. Huang and her team at SickKids Hospital since 2008, and we are so grateful for the ground-breaking outcomes of their work to date, as well as for the recognition of the potential impact of their continued research funded by the DECRYPT grant. We are honoured to be part of this unique collaborative effort, and we are filled with hope that this project will pave the way for further strides towards offering safer and more effective treatment options for children with rare brain cancers… options that simply didn’t exist when Tali was diagnosed.” – Kim Doron, Co-Founder and President of Tali’s Fund.
At the “Worth the Fight ATRT Rally” hosted by Hope4ATRT on November 10, 2023, Dr. Annie Huang provides an informative explanation and update about the research project co-funded by Tali’s Fund and Hope4ATRT and discusses ongoing research goals. Tali’s Fund is committed to continuing to help support these ground-breaking initiatives and to working collaboratively with other like-minded organizations.
What’s next?
Clinical Trial
Current knowledge lays the foundation for a clinical trial of personalized treatments, giving young children with these tumours more tailored treatment options and fewer harmful side effects. Is there a relationship between the genetic subtypes and their response to different types of drugs? Can more precise and less toxic treatment combinations be matched to specific ATRT subtypes?
Tali’s Fund will do our best to advocate for the launch of a clinical trial and to help with fundraising efforts to support it.
“I’m hoping this will create a paradigm shift in the way we approach childhood brain tumours. It will make us look at malignant brain tumours, particularly those affecting very young children, as a medically treatable disease for which radiation is not always necessary.”
Dr. Annie Huang