HOW WE  HELP

Childhood Cancer Canada is working to bring hope to children diagnosed with cancer through research. More than $10 million has been invested in vital childhood cancer research since 2006, thanks to the support of our generous donors who believe in giving kids a fighting chance to live their dreams. 

 

A Lifeline for Hard-to-Cure Cancers, Ensure Precision Medicine is There for Kids

Advances made in precision medicine significantly improve outcomes for children and adolescents with hard-to-cure cancers. PROFYLE is a program that works to find treatment options for each individual patient. It identifies targets for therapies for children and adolescents whose cancer is resistant to treatment, has relapsed or spread to other parts of the body, and may be out of other treatment options. 

Childhood Cancer Canada is a proud funder of the PROFYLE Program, which brings leaders in childhood cancer research and care together to analyze and review the molecular profile of a young person’s tumour to find potential personalized treatment options for children, adolescent and young adult patients with hard-to-cure cancer.
 

 

ABOUT PROFYLE

The PROFYLE Program provides a lifeline for children, adolescents and young adults with a cancer that has spread, returned, or is resistant to treatment. To-date, nearly $670,000 has supported this program to improve the outcomes for young people with hard-to-cure cancer. But there’s more work to do. 

Using molecular profiling and targeted drug therapies to change outcomes for kids

Molecular profiling is a set of molecular tests that look at the genetic characteristics of an individual’s cancer to find cancer-specific abnormalities. The information gathered is used to identify therapies that are designed to target the specific alterations in the individual’s tumour profile. By targeting cancer-specific molecular changes, the goal is to have a greater treatment effect on the cancer and a less negative impact on the patient’s health, resulting in increased survival and an improved quality of life.

PROFYLE gives children, adolescents and young adults who are out of conventional treatment options, no matter where they live in the country, a chance to overcome their disease. With PROFYLE, we are increasing kids’ access to molecular profiling, diagnostic tools, and treatments.

Molecular profiling is a set of molecular tests that look at the genetic characteristics of an individual’s cancer to find cancer-specific abnormalities. The information gathered is used to identify therapies that are designed to target the specific alterations in the individual’s tumour profile. By targeting cancer-specific molecular changes, the goal is to have a greater treatment effect on the cancer and a less negative impact on the patient’s health, resulting in increased survival and an improved quality of life.

PROFYLE gives children, adolescents and young adults who are out of conventional treatment options, no matter where they live in the country, a chance to overcome their disease. With PROFYLE, we are increasing kids’ access to molecular profiling, diagnostic tools, and treatments.
 

How it works

To date, about 1,200 patients from across Canada, aged 0-29 with a predicted survival rate of less than 50%, are enrolled in PROFYLE. Each patient’s tumour sample is sent to one of three profiling sites in Canada. The results are then discussed by national tumour boards which are comprised of many experts across multiple research and clinical fields in genetics and oncology. When a patient’s sample is found to harbour a targetable alteration, their oncology team is informed, and a determination can be made as to whether the patient meets criteria to be enrolled on an appropriate clinical trial. The data generated by profiling these tumors and seeing how they respond to targeted therapies also helps guide treatment decisions for future patients. More and more children, adolescents and young adults with hard-to-cure cancer are being found to have actionable findings, with about 1 in 4 eligible for a clinical trial or therapy where there is evidence of efficacy. 

PROFYLE exists to help children, like Alfea (Alfea's Story), with hard-to-cure cancers who need the combined impact of Canada’s best and brightest researchers and clinicians. The PROFYLE Program is made possible by the generosity of Canadians. We will never stop fighting for these young patients and ask that you join us in our fight so we can continue this vital program.
 
For more information about the PROFYLE program please visit www.profyle.ca.
 

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