Ewing sarcoma is a bone cancer that is most frequently found in children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 20 years old. Tumors often originate in the long, large bones of the body, including the hip, thigh, shin, chest, and arm bones.
Besides originating from the bone, sometimes this tumor can form just outside the bone in the soft tissue. The cancer can also metastasize to other sites including the lungs, other bones or soft tissue areas, and bone marrow, making the disease more difficult to treat and resulting in significantly lower survival rates.
At the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation, we support the groundbreaking work of Dr. Kimberly Stegmaier at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to help find a cure for this disease. In 2016, TLC first provided financial support to help bring new targeted therapies to patients battling Ewing Sarcoma, and we have since designated her lab as the beneficiary of our fundraising events in Massachusetts to honor a local survivor of Ewing Sarcoma named Carly (the annual “Rockin’ for a Reason” concert, in particular).
Dr. Stegmaier’s team has identified a new drug class that is highly active in Ewing sarcoma cells, targeting proteins called CDK 7, 12, and 13. These proteins are important in the expression of genes in the cell and also in the control of DNA damage. To learn more about how the team intends to bring these breakthroughs to clinic, click here.
In December 2019, a team of students toured the lab with Dr. Stegmaier, and presented her with another $5,000 to support the continuation of her progressive work in both Ewing Sarcoma and Neuroblastoma. The funding resulted from the 2018 and 2019 “Rockin’ for a Reason” concerts in Upton, MA.
