The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded a $6.9 million grant to a team at Children’s Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center. The one-of-a-kind study is seeking to discover the drivers of soft-tissue sarcoma and Ewin’s sarcoma, and develop custom treatments for children who have the disease.
The project is being led by Stephen Skapek, M.D., medical division director for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s and a professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern. The team will work with researchers at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital and the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio over the next five years.
Soft tissue sarcoma is thought of as “an orphan disease,” said Skapek, explaining in a statement that there have been few advancements in treatments for sarcomas in the last 20 years, compared to other cancers.