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Dear Coaches Curing Kids Cancer, I have spent nearly 30 years treating children and doing research to make treatment safer and more effective and with less long term side effects. During this time, to receive spontaneous, unsolicited gifts is a multiple blessing - for the soul as well as the laboratory. Thank you!
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Paul Newcomb |
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Attached is a
picture of some of the coaches in our league on our Opening Day 2007. For the last few years we been donating
to your organization. Many of our coaches wear your t-shirt at local functions and get many questions about
Coaches Curing Kids' Cancer. I personally was at the Little League World Seris and had a couple on the bus
ask about it. They seemed very interested. Thanks again for all you do. |
Thank you for this opportunity to tell you about how we are using the wonderful support from CKC to support our translational research studies on the use of an immunotoxin to attack human acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), especially the critical leukemia stem cells that sustain and propagate the leukemia. Taking advantage of generous CKC seed support, my lab has developed a powerful new model for human ALL stem cells, defined operationally as the cells which generate human leukemias in our highly immunodeficient mice. Our human-mouse model is sensitive and specific, and we are expanding our current small bank of human leukemia cells (fresh frozen from patients) from which we can assess leukemia stem cells. In the first test of ALL cells in this model, we have shown the potency of a further engineered immunotoxin against human leukemia stem cells. After we obtain results with cells from several cases of ALL, we will formally compare the immunotoxin sensitivity of the leukemia stem cells versus the bulk leukemia cells. We will then go on to rationally select and empirically test combining the immunotoxin treatment with conventional ALL medicines. Thus, we are extremely pleased with the scientific progress that the CKC support has allowed. In addition, we are glad to report that, armed with this preliminary data, we have successfully obtained longer term funding from the Leukemia Lymphoma Society that will allow us to continue to support the collaborative efforts of the Pastan, Wayne and Civin groups to enhance immunotoxin therapy for childhood ALL. We sincerely hope that there will be lasting impact from the CKC seed funding of our research, and that the ultimate impact will include many children cured of ALL. Thank you again for making this all possible. Curt I. Civin, MD Herman & Walter Samuelson Professor of Cancer Research Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Bunting-Blaustein Cancer Research Bldg, 2M44 1650 Orleans St Baltimore, MD 21231 |
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