New clinical guidelines enabling a better understanding of childhood bone cancer will revolutionize treatment for these young patients across Europe, according to a leading researcher from the University of East Anglia. The new guidance, which will be implemented across every hospital and research institute in Europe that works with patients with bone cancer, are ultimately aimed at moving treatment away from untargeted chemotherapy and more towards precision medicine. The new framework includes specifications for biological samples from patients.
The hope is that these samples can then be used for additional testing to better understand each child's cancer and lead to personalisation of effective treatments with reduced side effects. Gathering high-quality samples from across Europe, along with the patient's medical information, will help researchers and clinicians to pinpoint different subtypes of disease and understand the genetic, biological, and other factors involved. This can guide the development of tailored treatments for each patient's cancer type.
Dr. Darrell Green, of UEA's Norwich Medical School, was one of three joint lead researchers on the project, which brought together more than 60 universities, hospitals and research institutions. Bone cancer treatment is brutal, involving a combination of untargeted chemotherapy and surgery, which sometimes involves limb amputation.
Most patients with bone cancer have a limited number of biological samples collected when t.