The LLS Dare to Dream Project

Press On recently committed $500,000 to continue funding The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Dare to Dream Project, including the first-ever Pediatric Acute Leukemia Master Clinical Trial (PedAL) to accelerate safer, less toxic, and more effective treatments for kids. PedAL is the first integrated, global, acute leukemia master clinical trial to test new, safer therapies on children, who will be matched to treatments based on their unique tumor biology. Running the same trial around the world, with the same protocol, testing mechanisms, definitions, tracking, and methodology, will enable LLS to generate results where pharma- or institution-led trials cannot in a reasonable time. The trial also brings state-of-the-art screening and diagnostics to children who otherwise might not have access to this sophisticated level of care.

PedAL involves a genomic screening trial that identifies the unique tumor biology of each child’s cancer to enable the oncologist to identify the best treatment for the child’s particular form of acute leukemia. After completing the screening trial, based on their tumor biology, families can then enroll eligible children in a PedAL therapeutic trial or any other trial that best meets their needs. The first PedAL drug trial is open at 75 centers in 18 countries as of September 2024 with 43 children enrolled, and a second drug trial is on track to open this Fall. Dare to Dream also funds a webbased application that helps physicians quickly identify clinical trials suitable for their pediatric patients based on clinical criteria, genomic profile, and immunophenotype; a Clinical Trial Support Center that helps parents identify trials that might be suitable for their child; and a pediatric data commons that provides researchers with real world data needed for benchmarking and analysis insights into therapies, toxicities, and outcomes. Another component of Dare to Dream is Dr. Soheil Meshinchi’s immunotherapy research, which Press On supported with a grant of $100,000 in 2023. Dr. Meshinchi’s team is studying antibody drug conjugates (ADC) that recognize and bind to proteins on malignant cells, enabling the ADC to deliver its cancer killing payload directly to the cancer cell. The team has also developed white blood cells called chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cells that have been engineered to recognize and bind specific proteins on malignant cells, allowing the CAR T cells to efficiently find and kill cancer. Clinical trials based on Dr. Meshinchi’s ADC and CAR T research are planned to open in 2025, with plans to eventually expand to other malignancies because of the target protein being abundant in numerous cancers. In addition to studying new ways to utilize CAR T cells, Dr. Meshinchi’s team is researching ways to develop less labor intensive and expensive antibodies that can be used in ways similar to CAR T cells. These antibodies could be used for multiple patients, unlike CAR T cells which require harvesting white blood cells from each individual patient and genetically engineering them into CAR T cells for use only in that person.