Describe your research
Giulio: Small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type (SCCOHT) is a rare type of ovarian cancer affecting girls and young women.
Patient diagnosed with this terrible disease have dismal prognosis and few treatment options with short lived response. My research goal is to find new therapeutic strategies to give new hope to patients affected by SCCOHT.
How did you interest in researching SCCOHT begin?
Prof. Huang: This all started in 2014 when 3 seminal papers were published in Nature Genetics discovering that inactivation of the SMARCA4 gene underlies this rare disease affecting young women.
One of these studies was from Dr. William Foulkes鈥檚 group. Intrigued by the genomic-quiescent nature of this cancer, I reached out to Dr. Foulkes for collaborations as we have previously worked on other SWI/SNF components.
We have been working closely ever since trying to understand disease mechanism and uncover druggable vulneraries in SCCOHT.
How does your research help patients and who does it help?听
Giulio: My research is currently supported by Emma Per Sempre, a foundation named in memory of Emma Ciani, a young woman affected by SCCOHT.
Our common goal is to raise awareness on this devastating disease. I am also in close contact with Emma鈥檚 family to answer scientific questions and help them understand this rare and lethal cancer.
In addition, I hope that one day my discoveries will lead to clinical trials that can validate the efficacy of the new treatment option in patients affected by SCCOHT.
What does International Childhood Cancer Day mean to you?听
Prof. Huang: It is very important to raise the awareness about childhood cancers, especially these rare diseases that may not be known by the general public.
This can help improve early diagnosis, better treat and support these young patients. As well, by raising the public awareness, we hope to see more support for research that we do here in our laboratories.
Giulio: The International Childhood Cancer Day is a good opportunity to promote an increased appreciation and deeper understanding of the challenges faced by children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families.
Every year, more than 400,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer. Among them some are affected by SCCOHT.
I believe the International Childhood Cancer Day will help raising awareness on this disease and gives me an opportunity to reach out and support all the families and the patients affected by SCCOHT.