Dr. Santiago | A portrait of current projects in pediatric hemato-oncology in Quebec

Testimony of Dr. Raoul Santiago, pediatric oncologist-hematologist, associate professor at the CHU de Québec – Université Laval

“One child in 400 is diagnosed with cancer before the age of 15. Despite the spectacular advances of the last few decades, about 20% of these cancers remain fatal, making pediatric cancers the leading cause of death by disease in childhood. Survivors of childhood cancer have a higher risk of developing chronic diseases during their lifetime and about one third of them have severe sequelae. Research is therefore essential to develop new, more effective treatments and to avoid long-term consequences.

Through its support, the Charles-Bruneau Foundation enables innovative and ambitious research projects for pediatric cancers. These projects are the result of collaboration across Quebec.

Three main research areas have been developed:

• To better understand the mechanisms leading to the development of pediatric cancers in order to invent tomorrow’s treatments;
• Establish early interventions to prevent long-term complications of treatment;
• Design and evaluate training programs to support the continuous development of nursing expertise in order to offer the best care to children.

In concrete terms, every child diagnosed with cancer in Quebec can benefit from an in-depth analysis, by reading the genetic code (sequencing) of the tumour, to identify the characteristics of his or her tumour in an extremely precise manner. In certain cases where standard treatments have failed, these analyses allow us to find therapeutic options targeted to the anomalies found in the tumour’s genetic code. These are called personalized therapies. This research has already helped dozens of children and, in the future, the discoveries made through these projects may allow targeted therapies to be introduced earlier in treatment to benefit the greatest number of children.

The long-term sequelae prevention and caregiver training projects are large-scale projects that are designed and created in collaboration with patient and family partners. They will be implemented in all pediatric oncology centers in Quebec to provide quality care and establish the standards of care for the future.

The Charles-Bruneau Foundation’s commitment to pediatric oncology research has made Quebec a world leader in pediatric cancer research. It is the hope to give every child with cancer in Quebec every chance to become a healthy adult.”

A huge thank you to Dr. Santiago for taking the time to provide this summary of current advances in pediatric hematology-oncology research in Quebec