# COG NCTN Integrated Translational Science Center for Hematopoietic Malignancies in Children

> **NIH NIH UG1** · PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE · 2022 · $800,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
Hematopoietic malignancies including leukemias and lymphomas contribute to nearly half of all cancers and
are a major cause of death from disease in children. The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) has spearheaded
efforts to improve outcome in children with cancer, and despite dramatic improvements in survival over the last
several decades, relapse remains a major problem, and survivors may suffer long term complications from the
cytotoxic therapy. Better understanding of the biology of malignancies allows for more rational, targeted
approaches to therapy, minimizing the need or the intensity of the non-selective cytotoxic therapies. Such
targeted approaches have transformed some diseases from uniformly fatal to highly curable ones (e.g., CML,
APL), but a paucity of actionable targets has prevented broader application of targeted interventions in
hematopietic malignancies. As part of its focus on optimizing the survival in pediatric cancers and improving
quality of life for the cancer survivors, COG through partnerships with NCI has conducted a number of
discovery phase studies to identify the biologic basis of cancer in children, with the goal of identifying specific
targets for more appropriate risk stratification and directed therapies in its clinical trials. With the emerging data
from pediatric (and adult) discovery phase studies, COG is poised to take the next step in identifying actionable
targets for therapeutic intervention. As part of these efforts, COG has created the Network Group Integrated
Translational Science Centers (ITSCs) aimed at providing resources for therapeutically driven translational
research. COG Hematopoietic ITSC (HM-ITSC) has put into place intellectual (leadership) and physical
resources (resource laboratories, biospecimens, etc.) to ensure rapid identification of actionable targets
through carefully designed translational research projects, and fostering the experimental data through a
carefully structured mechanism to clinical application. HM-ITSC is structured and integrated into the functional
operations of the COG, with direct links to the COG Operations Office, Disease Committees, Network group
Data and Statistics Center and Developmental Therapeutics in order to facilitate rapid flow of actionable
translational biology data to clinical implementation within NCTN clinical trials. Hematopoietic Malignancies
(HM) are a major cause of cancer in children and novel therapeutic targets are needed to optimize outcome.
COG HM-Integrated Translational Science Center, integrated into the functional organization of COG, will
provide resources to support translational research in pediatric leukemias and lymphomas towards
identification of clinically meaningful targets and their incorporation into clinical trials.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10561589
- **Project number:** 7UG1CA233249-04
- **Recipient organization:** PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** SOHEIL MESHINCHI
- **Activity code:** UG1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $800,000
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2022-03-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10561589

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10561589, COG NCTN Integrated Translational Science Center for Hematopoietic Malignancies in Children (7UG1CA233249-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10561589. Licensed CC0.

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