The past few decades have brought great advances in therapies for pediatric cancers. However, the small patient numbers and additional safety requirements make pediatric oncology a difficult area of study. The Focus section in this issue of Clinical Cancer Research (CCR) discusses recent advances in pediatric oncology research, including the identification of new targets in neuroblastoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the presence of epigenetic dysregulation in pediatric cancers, and the potential use of pharmacogenomics to prevent treatment-associated toxicity. The findings presented in this CCR Focus offer hope that pediatric oncologists are currently at the threshold of important therapeutic discoveries in the treatment of childhood cancer.
CCR Focus, published quarterly, provides new and robust insights from experts on a specific topic in a manner not only suited for those well-versed in the area but also for other researchers interested in the field. These articles concentrate on analysis of available information, evaluation of limitations in methodology, and identification of new trajectories that may lead to further discovery, inquiry, or interpretation.