This is a proposal for the continued support of Indiana University's participation in the Children's Cancer Group (CCG) activities. Indiana University has been a funded member of CCG since 1971. The Indiana University childhood cancer program has recruited substantial numbers of patients into CCG studies and consistently has ranked in the top 10 of 35 of CCG institutions. This should continue as this program remains the major referral center for the State of Indiana and is committed to CCG participation. This application supports the efforts of 41 Indiana University investigators and support staff. Additional strengths of the Indiana program which serve the interests of CCG include basic and translational research. Funding from the NIH/NCI for childhood cancer research at the Indiana University program was 2.9M dollars for 1995-1996. Areas of expertise are in basic hematopoiesis, DNA repair and gene therapy. Translational efforts include the use of peripheral blood progenitor cells for hematopoietic support, and gene therapy and DNA repair proteins to off-set hematopoietic toxicity of chemotherapy. These efforts have already lead to Drs. Jakacki and Kreissman acting as study chairs for novel translational studies within the CCG targetted for brain tumors and neuroblastoma. Similar efforts in gene therapy at the institutional level may be ready for limited institutional CCG trials in 3-5 years. The Indiana program can be expected to feed the CCG with pilot data for these novel translational studies. This should greatly aid efforts directed toward the development of scientifically-based, hypothesis-driven research aims within the CCG. Indiana investigators chair 6 scientific committees, 7 serve on disease strategy groups, and have chaired 11 studies during the 1992-1997 period. Finally, multidisciplinary expertise is represented in the areas of cytogenetics (Heerema), local tumor control (Rescorla), and tumor imaging (Cohen). The Indiana group remains dedicated to the understanding and development of better treatment for children with cancer through its participation in the CCG.
