So-called precision oncology involves the use of drugs that target specific molecular alterations in the tumour. These therapies are usually tested in clinical trials in adults and most have not been approved for use in children. An opinion article calls for these trials to be extended to children as well, given the difficulty of conducting such trials in children due to the small number of cases. According to the authors, who publish the text in the journal Trends in Cancer, given that children and adolescents tend to tolerate therapy better than older adults, ‘the time has come to consider age-agnostic approvals, i.e. approvals that include children and adults of any age’.
Pablo Velasco - oncología de precisión menores EN
Pablo Velasco Puyó
Doctor in the Paediatric Oncology and Haematology Department at Vall d'Hebron Hospital and associate professor in the Paediatrics Department at the Autonomous University of Barcelona
This review article highlights the disparity in the study and approval of cancer drugs between the adult and paediatric populations. Precision medicine has made it possible to design personalised treatments that target a specific mechanism of action and genetics, not a specific cancer type (hence the term tumour agnostics), which are often shared between paediatric and adult cancers (hence the pun in the article's title with ag(e)nostic), increasing the chances of investigating and approving drugs regardless of age.
However, while there has been progress in the development of clinical trials for children, the speed and volume of approval lags far behind adult numbers and what is needed to improve the efficacy and decrease the toxicity of current treatments. To encourage pharmaceutical companies in this type of development, the RACE initiative was created in the US, and in Europe work is underway to amend the 2007 legislation. To this end, recognised scientific societies such as the ITCC Consortium, Accelerate, SIOPe and patient delegates such as CCI Europe are doing a great job in developing initiatives to accelerate the development of new drugs against paediatric cancer. Such work increases public awareness and support, and with it political and regulatory commitment.
- Opinion
Kudek et al.
- Opinion
