Long-term support from Ligue contre le cancer to PEDIAC teams 

The research projects of the PEDIAC teams are also supported by the Ligue contre le cancer, a major actor in pediatric cancer research. Here, the Ligue’s brochure “20 ans tout rond” highlights four PEDIAC teams.

Pediatric cancer: hope for better treatments for children with cancer

At the Lyon Cancer Center, M. Castets, a research fellow at Inserm, and her team are working to rethink therapeutic approaches for children. The first step is to better understand the mechanisms of resistance to treatment in young patients. This is the research focus of C. Savary, a post-doctoral researcher in M. Castets’ team.

Harnessing the MYB-dependent TAL1 5’super-enhancer for targeted therapy in T-ALL

The acquisition of genetic abnormalities leading to deregulation of oncogenes is the basis for cancer development. Some proto-oncogenes have several mechanisms of deregulation. In T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), in V. Asnafi‘s team, C. Smith showed that patients carrying 5’super-enhancer (5’SE) mutations of the TAL1 oncogene constitute a specific subgroup of patients with a poor prognosis, independently of the level of oncogene deregulation. Interestingly, this anomaly may serve as a therapeutic target for the molecule Mebendazole.

SFH 2023 Congress

On the occasion of the congress of the French Society of Hematology from March 29 to 31, V. Asnafi will present an extended classification of T lymphoblastic leukemias.

“Cancer is a strange biological object. It is observed in virtually the entire animal and plant kingdom, and is a common disease in humans. However, at the cellular level, it is an extremely rare phenomenon. – Olivier Delattre

Discover the portrait and the interview of O. Delattre who received the 2022 INSERM Grand Prize. This pediatrician and researcher at the Institut Curie works on childhood cancers and leads the team “Diversity and plasticity of childhood tumours” of which I. Janoueix-Lerosey is a member.

Parental occupational exposure to combustion products, metals, silica and asbestos and risk of childhood leukaemia: Findings from the Childhood Cancer and Leukaemia International Consortium (CLIC)

Parental occupational exposures around conception (father) or during pregnancy (mother) have been hypothesized as potential predisposing factors for childhood leukaemia. J. Schüz’s team investigated parental exposure to several known occupational carcinogens and childhood leukaemia risk.

Metabolism, hematopoietic development and splicing

The CHO (Club for Hematopoiesis and Oncogenesis) congress will be held from October 12 to 15, 2022. Among the speakers, T. Mercher and V. Maguer Satta will speak to present their projects.

4th congress “Childhood cancers: understand to treat” – React4Kids

Don’t miss the symposium entitled “Childhood cancers: understand to treat” organized by the REACT-4Kids network from October 10 to 12, 2022 in Strasbourg. O. Ayrault (WP2 coordinator of the PEDIAC program) will present the consortium.

“Septembre en Or” dedicated to the fight against pediatric cancers

On the occasion of Septembre en or, a month dedicated to the support and the fight against pediatric cancers in the world, V. Maguer Satta (WP3 coordinator of the PEDIAC program) explains in an interview the stakes of the project.

Single-cell transcriptomics reveals shared immunosuppressive landscapes of mouse and human neuroblastoma

High-risk neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer with still a dismal prognosis, despite multimodal and intensive therapies. Tumor microenvironment represents a key component of the tumor ecosystem the complexity of which has to be accurately understood to define selective targeting opportunities, including immunebased therapies.The works of I. Janoueix’s team provides a new and precious data resource to better understand the neuroblastoma ecosystem and suggest novel therapeutic strategies, targeting both tumor cells and components of the microenvironment.

Epstein-Barr Virus Genome Deletions in Epstein-Barr Virus-Positive T/NK Cell Lymphoproliferative Diseases

The main target cells for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and persistence are B lymphocytes, although T and NK cells could also be infected. The team of S. Latour in collaboration with the team of Paul Farrell (Imperial College London) characterized the EBV present in 21 pediatric and adult patients, treated in France for a serie of diseases leading to infection of T or NK cells called “Chronic active EBV” or CAEBV. In 30% of cases, the EBV genome has large deletions that are different from one patient to another located in the vicinity of the BART region. These deletions appear and are selected independently from patient to patient. These results support the role of these deletions in these atypical forms of EBV infection.

A new work on pediatric leukemias

A work between the teams of T. Mercher U1170 and I. Plo/H. Raslova U1287 on acute megakaryoblastic leukemia of Down syndrome.

More than 110 participants at the PEDIAC seminar on “Pesticides: exposures, metabolism and toxicology”

The scientific webinar on May 31, on the topic of pesticides welcomed over 110 participants! Find out more about the topics that were discussed.

Code Against Cancer

IARC scientists including Joachim Schuz, participate at the 1st Executive Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Code against Cancer and are discussing scientific evidence with the goal of launching the Code on World Cancer Day 2023! The more exciting event will be the launch on World cancer day 2023.

Workshop “Pesticides: metabolism and toxicology”

Don’t miss the workshop on Tuesday, May 31 from 2 pm to 6 pm, which will focus on pesticides. Register for free to get the connecting link.

Visit of volunteers from the Aïda association to the Gustave Roussy Institute

Volunteers from the Aïda association visited the Thomas Mercher’s laboratory (Inserm U1170 Univ, Paris-Saclay, Gustave Roussy) to learn about cancer research. This association of volunteers is committed to young people affected by cancer. They participate in several missions such as helping patients, supporting research and science popularization.

WHO European report on inequalities in childhood cancer

On International Childhood Cancer Day, WHO Europe launched the report “Childhood cancer inequalities in the WHO European Region”. This report presents for the first time the evidence on child cancer inequalities in the region.  Joachim Schüz is part of the advisory group that supported this work.

Understand the origins of childhood cancers

On International Childhood Cancer Day, IARC presents a video explaining how their researchers are exploring avenues to “time travel” and study the origins of childhood cancers. More children die from childhood cancers than from any other disease. Understanding the causes of these cancers is essential to preventing them and finding cures.

Functional screening in ETO2-GLIS2 pediatric AML

Resulting from a collaboration between the teams of Julie Chaumeil (ATIP-Avenir, Institut Cochin), Thomas Mercher and Camille Lobry (Inserm U944, Institut Saint-Louis), this study reveals the importance of a functional module controlled by the ETO2-GLIS2 fusion oncogene, including two receptor tyrosine kinases mediating extracellular signals, in pediatric acute megakaryoblastic leukemia.

The research of Thomas Mercher’s team (Inserm U1170 Univ, Paris-Saclay, Gustave Roussy is supported by the Ligue since 2015.