Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, Joedance Film Festival, and the Isabella Santos Foundation Collaborate to Fight Cancer
January 2017
Levine Children’s Hospital announced today that they are actively enrolling patients in a new pediatric cancer clinical trial. The trial, a partnership with Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, will be open to teenagers and young adults with recurring sarcomas. The trial is being funded by Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, Joedance Film Festival, and the Isabella Santos Foundation.
The trial is ultimately studying whether the drug combination of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine prevents the formation or growth of tumors in teens and young adults with sarcomas, cancer of the soft tissue. The FDA has approved the use of this drug combination for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer in adults, and it is thought this combination will also be effective in treating other cancers. Levine Children’s Hospital is one of three sites where this trial is being offered.
“Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, Joedance Film Festival, and the Isabella Santos Foundation are long-time champions for cancer research at Levine Children’s Hospital. To come together and collectively fund this trial is a testament to their devotion and mutual vision to find a cure for cancer. We are honored to have their generous support”, said Javier Oesterheld, MD, Specialty Medical Director for Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Blood and Marrow Transplant, and Palliative Care at Levine Children’s Hospital, and principal investigator for the trial.
About Levine Children’s Hospital
Carolinas HealthCare System’s Levine Children’s Hospital is a 234-bed hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, located on the main campus of Carolinas Medical Center. It is the most comprehensive facility of its type between Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. Since opening in 2007, the hospital has grown to include more than 30 pediatric specialties and has received national recognition from U.S. News & World Report as one of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals.” The hospital’s Torrence E. Hemby Jr., Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Center houses one of the premier pediatric hematology and oncology programs in the country, and has become a destination for pediatric cancer care.