Rare Tumors: Opportunities and challenges from the Children’s Oncology Group perspective

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Kris Ann P. Schultz, Children’s Minnesota; Murali Chintagumpala, Baylor College of Medicine; Jin Piao, University of Southern California; Kenneth S. Chen, University of Texas Southwestern; Rachana Shah, University of Southern California; Robyn D. Gartrell, Columbia University; Emily Christison-Lagay, Yale University; Farzana Pashnakar, Yale University; Jesse L. Berry, University of Southern California; Allison F. O'Neill, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Lauren M. Vasta, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; Ashley Flynn, Children’s Mercy Kansas City; Sarah G. Mitchell, Emory University; Brittani K. N. Seynnaeve, University of Pittsburgh; Jeremy Rosenblum, New York Medical College; Samara L. Potter, Nationwide Children’s Hospital; Junne Kamihara, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Douglas S. Hawkins, University of Washington; Theodore W. Laetsch, University of Pennsylvania
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-12
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ejcped.2023.100024
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: EJC Paediatric Oncology
• Volume: 2
• Start Page: 100024
• Grant/Funding Information: Children’s Oncology Group NCTN Operations Center, Grant Number: U10CA180886 and NCTN Statistics & Data Center, Grant Number: U10CA180899. Jesse Berry receives funding from National Cancer Institute Award Number K08CA232344, The Wright Foundation and Children’s Oncology Group/ St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Kris Ann Schultz receives funding from National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute grant R01/R37CA244940, Children’s Minnesota Foundation, Pine Tree Apple Classic Fund and Rein in Sarcoma. Brittani Seynnaeve receives career development funding from the Melanoma Research Foundation and the University of Pittsburgh Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program SPORE.
• Keywords: Children’s Oncology Group; adrenocortical carcinoma; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; rare tumor; pleuropulmonary blastoma; retinoblastoma; rare cancer
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Oncology

Abstract

While all childhood cancers are rare, tumors that are particularly infrequent or underrepresented within pediatrics are studied under the umbrella of the Children’s Oncology Group Rare Tumor committee, divided into the Retinoblastoma and Infrequent Tumor subcommittees. The Infrequent Tumor subcommittee has traditionally included an emphasis on globally rare tumors such as adrenocortical carcinoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, or those tumors that are rare in young children, despite being common in adolescents and young adults, such as colorectal carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, and melanoma. Pleuropulmonary blastoma, gonadal stromal tumors, pancreatic tumors including pancreatoblastoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, nonmelanoma skin cancers, neuroendocrine tumors, and desmoplastic small round cell tumors, as well as other carcinomas are also included under the heading of the Children’s Oncology Group Rare Tumor committee. While substantial challenges exist in rare cancers, inclusion and global collaboration remain key priorities to ensure high quality research to advance care.