Every year around the world they get cancer about 250 thousand children. In Italy the new diagnoses of cancer are about 1,400 in children up to 14 years and 800 in adolescents between 15 and 19 years. Research has made enormous strides in the treatment of these diseases: today in over 70% of cases – and for some forms of leukemia over 90% – the disease is defeated. «And yet, despite the progress, we have noticed that children and especially adolescents they do not always receive age-appropriate care – he writes Paolo Veronesi, president of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, in the introduction to a report dedicated to the “Gold for kids” project – one of the most common mistakes made in medicine is that of wanting to administer a cure for a specific pathology regardless of who you are dealing with . Yet adults, women, men, adolescents and children they are all different from each other. If for some diseases the treatment is the same – except for the doses of drug to be administered – for serious pathologies such as tumors the situation changes radically “.
February 15th is celebrated the International day dedicated to pediatric cancers. At the heart of this year’s campaign is the participation of everyone as a key to success to be able to heal and better treat children who get cancer: they serve appropriate carewith i right times and with specialized doctors. They are also the pillars of the “Gold for kids” campaign launched in 2104 by the Veronesi Foundation in synergy with the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (Aieop) and its Foundation (Fieop). The goal is support medical care and the Research on childhood cancers and promote a correct scientific information.
If, as mentioned, 80% of childhood cancers heal (with percentages reaching 90% in some cases), neoplasms still represent the leading cause of death from disease in children, and in 90% of cases they have unknown causes. The Foundation’s project therefore aims to concretely support research in pediatric oncology starting from that still unsatisfied need to provide a tailor-made care of children and adolescents, with particular attention to the latter. In fact, with the same disease boys are less likely to recover than a child. This is because fewer teenagers are placed in care protocols and the mean diagnostic delay it is much higher.
Adolescent cancers can then be particularly problematic because the patient is in a phase of strong changes, physical and psychological. At that moment the children are more fragile than ever, but these aspects are still not considered enough in the hospital environment.
The slogan chosen for the international day of 2022 is #in your hands: “Our goal is to maximize the chances of recovery and improve the quality of life of children and young people who get cancer – underlines Veronesi – We fund research and the best medical care for young cancer patients through the activation of care protocols; we carry out activities of information And disclosure on the issue of cancer in children and young people, with particular attention to young people and schools; we implement initiatives to sensitize public opinion and the competent institutions on the needs of adolescents with cancer ».
The successes obtained by scientific research in the treatment of tumors affecting adolescent children can be measured at a glance with a number: just think that in the 1970s, 58% of the young patients were cured, today we have reached precisely 70%, with peaks of 80-90% in the case of leukemia and lymphomas, which are among the most common pathologies in this age group. “Thanks to the financial support that the Foundation has provided us over the years, we have been able to treat thousands of Italian children in the best possible way – he underlines Arcangelo Prete, president of Aieop – being able to include every little patient who falls ill in a treatment protocol, the same for all of Italy, means guaranteeing him the best assistance for his specific case. Protocols are very important: provide operational guidelines to take charge and treat each patient, according to the highest and most innovative standards, thus ensuring the best chances of recovery. As the theme chosen for the 2022 International Day reminds us, they are indispensable early diagnosis, which allow us to discover the disease when the chances of permanent recovery are greatest. And access to the most suitable therapies and centers where they are present are equally fundamental multidisciplinary groups of various experts specialized in providing children and adolescents, and their families, with everything they need “.
Since the beginning of the project, born in 2014, they have been collected and invested almost 10 million eurosthanks to which it was possible to finance the work of 144 researchers and the opening of treatment protocols aimed at various childhood pathologies (neuroblastoma, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, ependymoma, medulloblastoma, sarcomas). In addition, the Umberto Veronesi Foundation supported the “Passport of the healed” project, ie the development of a multilingual digital platform to archive the data of former pediatric cancer patients, in order to help them manage any future complications related to the anticancer treatments received.
“If it is true that we have made great strides in recent decades, there are still many problems to be solved to improve both the survival and the quality of life of young patients – he concludes. Franca Fagioli, director of the pediatric oncohematology department and transplant center of the Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital in Turin, member of the Scientific Committee of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation and of the Fieop board of directors – among the open and urgent issues to be addressed are the possibility of access for children to new drugswhich are rarely tested and approved in forms and dosages appropriate to them, the lack of research funding and of targeted trials on pediatric pathologies. On this front too, the support we receive from the Umberto Veronesi Foundation is decisive ».
Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you
Those fighting glioma, one of the worst childhood cancers
When it is also the turn of children: “Ascanio, born with those pebbles in his belly”
Source: Vanity Fair
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
