Thomas Alexander, MD, MPH

Funded in partnership with the Carolina Hurricanes, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation – Dribble for Victory Over Cancer

Children with brain tumors and other solid cancers often need genetic testing before doctors can confirm the diagnosis and choose the best treatment. Today, this usually means several different tests. Many hospitals also have to send tumor samples to another laboratory. Families may wait weeks for results. During that time, treatment can be delayed, and the wait adds stress.Our goal is to replace this process with one test that gives the same answers in about three days. The test uses a new method to study the tumor’s DNA. It looks for changes in DNA that drive cancer. Our team has already shown that this method can find important DNA changes in childhood leukemia. We have also seen promising results in brain tumors and other solid cancers. In this project, we will improve the test, show that it works well in a hospital laboratory, and study how it performs in everyday patient care.We will learn if this test gives answers faster and helps doctors choose treatment sooner. Our goal is to make this testing available within days instead of weeks. Faster results could help children start the right treatment sooner. If successful, this approach could improve care for children with cancer and help more hospitals offer precision medicine.