$100 Million Fundraising Initiative - Strong Against Cancer - Launches With Goal of Curing Childhood Cancer

SEATTLE, Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Foundation today launched a $100 million, multi-year fundraising initiative to support research that scientists believe has the ability to cure some types of childhood cancer in the next 5 to 10 years.

Called "Strong Against Cancer" and backed by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, the initiative will help fund patient access to clinical trials as well as research on immunotherapy, a breakthrough treatment that reprograms the body's T-cells and reintroduces them into the immune system, where they hunt down and destroy cancer cells.

Developed at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children's, immunotherapy reduces the need for chemotherapy and radiation, along with the harsh side effects that often accompany those treatments. Immunotherapy has shown tremendous progress in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in patients who have relapsed one or more times. Seattle Children's also recently announced that it has begun recruiting patients for immunotherapy research for neuroblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of childhood cancer.

"We are raising hope for thousands of young people all over the world who are battling cancer," said Doug Picha, president of Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Foundation. "We are on the threshold of a cure based on immunotherapy, but we lack the necessary funds to provide this treatment to all of the young cancer patients who need it. Strong Against Cancer will help us get there."

Traditional cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy are hard on a child's growing body, and can lead to lifelong developmental and health concerns. Immunotherapy research has shown that a child's own reprogrammed immune cells can fight and defeat cancer, but government funding for clinical trials is in short supply, and insurance doesn't fund patient participation.

"Annually, pediatric cancers receive less than 3% of the National Cancer Institute budget, which is why it's so important for all of us to support initiatives like Strong Against Cancer," Wilson said. "The scientists working on immunotherapy have the treatment and the results to get us to a place where childhood cancer is no worse than a common virus. All that's needed now are the resources to bring it to every kid who needs it."

With help from Wilson, Seattle Children's will create a nationwide network of corporate sponsors and individual donors to fund Strong Against Cancer. The funding will help pediatric cancer patients who qualify for the immunotherapy research trial to be treated at Seattle Children's Hospital, with the goal of bringing the treatment to hospitals across the country.

So far, seven children who had little to no other treatment options for their cancer have gone into remission after immunotherapy at Seattle Children's Hospital. Even more positive results are expected this month.

"The results so far have been really remarkable," said Bruder Stapleton, senior vice president and Chief Academic Office at Seattle Children's. "Our success rate with immunotherapy has been very high – more than 80 percent of those treated have achieved remission."

A year ago, 20-year-old Milton Wright III was facing his third relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia – a virtual death sentence, as Wright's body had become resistant to chemotherapy. "I was waiting for them to give me the 'six months to live' talk," Wright said.

Instead, Wright was enrolled in the immunotherapy research trial, and it worked. Wright is now 21 and living cancer free.

"I know I am lucky to be here and I will never forget those who didn't survive before me," Wright said. "I'm living for them now, and I'm going to make the best of it."

About Strong Against Cancer

Strong Against Cancer is a nationwide initiative inspired by the immunotherapy discoveries at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children's Research Institute. This initiative is a team effort on the part of hospitals, researchers, doctors, nurses, corporations, organizations and individuals. The captain of the team is Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, who learned about immunotherapy during his regular visits to Seattle Children's Hospital. Clinical trials for this therapy are now underway and are producing exceptional results in eliminating childhood leukemia. The aim of the Strong Against Cancer team is to create a national philanthropic initiative with worldwide implications for curing childhood cancers through these immunotherapy treatments. For more information or to make a donation, visit strongagainstcancer.org

About Seattle Children's

Three simple words define Seattle Children's Hospital, Foundation and Research Institute – Hope. Care. Cure. Together, the three deliver superior patient care, advance new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and serve as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical referral center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children's hospital in the country.

Consistently ranked as one of the best children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children's Hospital specializes in meeting the unique physical, emotional and developmental needs of children from infancy through young adulthood. For more than 100 years, the hospital has been dedicated to providing top-quality care to every child in who needs it, regardless of the family's ability to pay.

Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Foundation gathers community support and raises funds for Seattle Children's Hospital and Seattle Children's Research Institute.

Located in downtown Seattle's biotech corridor, Seattle Children's Research Institute is pushing the boundaries of medical research to find cures for pediatric diseases and improve outcomes for children all over the world. Internationally recognized investigators and staff at the research institute are advancing new discoveries in cancer, genetics, immunology, pathology, infectious disease, injury prevention and bioethics, among others.

For more information, visit seattlechildrens.org or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141201/161666

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SOURCE Seattle Children’s

Related Links

http://www.seattlechildrens.org

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