No More Kids with Cancer

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia High Risk Brain Tumor Fund

Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. Although tremendous strides have been made in improving outcomes for some pediatric brain tumors, others, such as high-grade glioma, diffuse midline glioma, atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, and high-risk medulloblastoma either have no curative therapy or are likely to relapse after treatment. There is an urgent need to find better treatments these tumors.  

This fund was inspired by Naya Galyn Summy who died of high-risk medulloblastoma at the age of 11. The lack of options, advanced treatments and harsh side effects motivated Naya and her family to fund critical research and clinical trials to accelerate science and help children with cancer live a better and longer life. Since Naya’s death, Naya’s parents raised funds through No More Kids with Cancer to fund significant pediatric cancer trials and research at leading institutions including UCSF, Emory and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Their latest donation of $500,000 established the new High-Risk Brain Tumor Fund. 

 The High-Risk Brain Tumor Fund will continue Naya’s wish to find better options for children, and will support a body of work and team to advance options for children with high-risk brain tumors. The Fund will invest in laboratory work to accelerate the ability to get potential treatments to children, while supporting ongoing clinical trials evaluating new therapies for children with high-risk brain tumors and providing treatment options to families in challenging circumstances. 

About The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s leadership in Neuro-Oncology

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s neuro-oncology team is internationally recognized and consistently ranked one of the top programs for pediatric cancer. The Neuro-Oncology Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is one of the largest programs dedicated to pediatric brain and nervous system tumors, treating over 1,300 unique patients every year. CHOP is at the forefront of promising brain tumor research and care, driving innovation in personalized cancer therapies. Every day, the Neuro-Oncology team at CHOP work tirelessly to help more children and their families along the path from cancer patient to cancer survivor. Their labs are focused on rapidly evaluating novel targeted therapies and immunotherapies to find promising approaches for children. And CHOP’s clinical research program, with over 80 open studies, is testing new treatments for children with brain tumors.    

 CHOP also plays a critical leadership role in several pediatric brain tumor clinical trials consortia (CONNECT and PNOC), as well as numerous other multi-institutional research networks. Through these networks, CHOP is able to magnify its impact more broadly.