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Experimental Therapeutics Program Conditions & Treatments Meet Our Team Locations Contact Information Request an Apppointment     Email This Page Print This Page           Experimental Therapeutics Program Although current anti-cancer therapies have cured many children with cancer, a substantial portion of patients fail to achieve remission. Others demonstrate progression of their disease once initially controlled. The Experimental Therapeutics Program at Children’s National Medical Center identifies and tests new cytotoxic, biologic and immunotherapeutic agents, allowing the program to offer Children’s patients new cancer treatments that will hopefully result in improving their long-term outcome. Children’s has a long history of researching pediatric cancer developmental therapeutics and leading new anticancer drug development, including chairing national clinical trials. The Experimental Therapeutics Program has been a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Developmental Therapeutics Consortium (DVLC) since 2001 and is one of just 21 sites in North America selected to be a part of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. Both organizations develop new Phase I and Phase II therapies for children and adolescents with tumors resistant to standard chemotherapy. Phase I trials Clinical trials evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people. Phase I trials are the most basic of clinical trials. In a phase I study, drugs are tested to evaluate the maximum tolerated dosage and to examine their safety profile. Rigorous quality control and performance monitoring and sound scientific rationale in the design of studies assure the efficient identification of tolerable and biologically effective doses for timely incorporation into wider scale pediatric clinical trials. The Experimental Therapeutics Program’s nursing staff and research assistants are especially trained in managing and excecuting research protocols, monitoring patients, processing samples, and collecting data according to good clinical practice guidelines. Search the database of clinical trials offered through Children’s Research Institute, the academic arm of Children’s National Medical Center. Support for out-of-town families Patients and families who live more than 25 miles from the hospital are eligible to stay at the local Ronald McDonald House, located just minutes from the hospital. Each patient is assigned to one of the program’s social workers, who assists the family with finding housing. The hospital’s Concierge Service provides information about the community, such as where to find restaurants, post office, grocery stores, and pharmacies. Through dedicated resources in the Division of Oncology, the Experimental Therapeutics Program is able to assist families with the cost of parking in the hospital’s garage, meals in the cafeteria, and long distance telephone cards for families who travel and who have limited means. In addition, the Patient and Family Support Program provides comprehensive mental health and psychosocial services and helpful resources for all patients treated in the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, as well as patients’ parents and siblings. Back to Top