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Listed below are some of the projects that your generous donations are supporting at the Children’s Medical Research Institute:

• ProCan is a research project that is analysing tens of thousands of samples of all types of cancer to develop a database of information that will advance scientific discovery and enhance clinical treatment of cancers. This project opens up undreamed of possibilities for the personalised treatment of childhood cancers. The hope is to have the ability to compare a child’s cancer sample to a huge database that will allow for the identification of unique markers that indicate what treatment would be best for their specific cancer.

The ProCan team has processed over 10,000 samples to date, and have developed the capacity to analyse a cancer’s proteome within 9 hours of receiving a sample – so hopefully, in the future, data can be made available as soon as a child’s treating clinician needs it.

• iPC is an international research collaboration to create personalised treatment plans for children with cancer. The iPC project team is focused on studying molecular processes within cancer cells to build a computer model which can be modified for each individual cancer based on its unique molecular composition. This ‘virtual tumour’ will also help determine which treatments a child is likely to respond best to with the least toxicity, giving children battling cancer the best chance of survival and reduce the short and long-term side effects.

• Cancer Research Unit at the CMRi is conducting trailblazing work on telomeres – the caps at the ends of chromosomes that prevent cells from aging. All cancers, in both children and adults, need to maintain their telomeres to continue growing. By understanding how to halt the process of telomere maintenance, known as ‘the Achilles heel of cancer’, scientists will be able to develop therapies that can inhibit the growth of childhood cancers.

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