Blog about neuroblastoma research
My WordPress Blog is about neuroblastoma biology and Cancer Bioengineering Group
We started our fundraising in June with the VHI Women’s Mini-Marathon and cocluded with a PubQuiz. We raised 1K to be split between two amazing charities that support neuroblastoma research: the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Cancer Research Foundation and Neuroblastoma UK.
We thank all our supporters for their generous donations!
This September, our team laced up our boots for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to join Neuroblastoma UK’s campaign. Eight of us each walked ~14 km, 112 km in all, to raise awareness of neuroblastoma. 1 km for each child diagnosed with neuroblastoma in the last 12 months in Ireland and the UK. This cancer of developing nerve cells mostly affects babies and young children, and it’s still one of the hardest childhood cancers to treat.
We chose Howth for our route. Starting near the harbour, we headed west along the shore towards Sutton, then followed the coast south and east around the headland. We passed the Baily Lighthouse and climbed onto the cliff path, and the last stretch took us along the Howth Cliff Walk back to where we’d started. We had sea views the whole way, and a few tired legs by the end.
Every kilometre was a chance to talk about neuroblastoma: how its early signs are easy to miss, and why research into better, kinder treatments matters. Families facing this diagnosis walk a far harder road than we did, and we walked with them in mind.
Thank you to everyone who cheered us on. If you’d like to support the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Cancer Research Foundation and Neuroblastoma UK, you can donate to our GoFundMe page.
Our research is focused on neuroblastoma, a cancer of immature nerve cells that almost only affects babies and young children. It is one of the most unpredictable tumours in medicine: some vanish on their own, others are among the hardest childhood cancers to cure.
MYCN amplification
Extra copies of the MYCN oncogene appear in about 20–25% of tumours. It drives aggressive growth, and any child with it is usually treated as high-risk regardless of stage.
ALK & PHOX2B
ALK mutations occur in roughly 10% of tumours and are the main cause of the rare inherited form (1–2% of cases). ALK can be targeted with drugs such as lorlatinib.
Chromosome changes
Losses of 1p or 11q and gains of 17q signal more aggressive disease. Whole-chromosome gains (hyperdiploidy) in infants tend to mean a better outlook.
Yesterday, 30,000 runners, joggers, and walkers took part in the 44th VHI Women’s Mini Marathon. We were ages 14 to 92, from diverse cultural, educational, and fitness backgrounds. Each set their own ambition and target. It was my fourth race. My targets stayed the same: raising awareness for Childhood Cancer Research, supporting the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Cancer Research Foundation, and finishing within 1 hour and 15 minutes with a smile.
The atmosphere was cheering and empowering, and the weather was very kind to us. I was in a pink wave, and we started about 12:30ish. Running in a big company with your allies is enjoyable and empowering. I was sinking into the diversity and variety of running women and supporters along the road, enjoying every minute. Some took over me, and I took over some. Somewhere after 5K, I was tapped by my TERG colleagues, so the race became even more enjoyable.
The Vhi Mini Marathon 2026 kicks off our Childhood Cancer Awareness and Fundraising Campaign. We will support two amazing childhood cancer research charities: the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Cancer Research Foundation (CFNCRF) and Neuroblastoma UK (NBUK). We would be very grateful if you could support our call before and during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month via GoFundMe.
Childhood cancer is an umbrella term for many other types of this disease. Cancer is the 2nd most common cause of death among children after accidents.
Every September, many charities, researchers and parents of children with cancer work hard to raise awareness of this cancer. You may learn more about kids with cancer, their loving families, the doctors and caregivers who look after them and treat them, the young survivors of cancer and those kids and teens who lost their battle, and the scientists who work hard to find a way to stop childhood cancer.
The RCSI Cancer Bioengineering group is excited to announce our upcoming fundraising event! Join us for a Charity Night Pub Quiz on September 24th at 6:00 pm in Slattery’s D4 pub., in honour of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. All donations will go to the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Cancer Research Foundation (CFNCRF).
Test your trivia knowledge, win great raffle prizes, and make a difference together! Our pub quiz is open to everyone, with friends and family encouraged to attend. We can’t wait to see you there!
If you’re unable to make it but still want to support our fundraising efforts, we would greatly appreciate your donation. Please either buy the Raffle tickets or donate directly via the CFNCRF.
Cancer is the 2nd most common cause of death among children after accidents.
Childhood cancer is an umbrella term for many other types of this disease. Every September, many charities, researchers and parents of children with cancer work hard to raise awareness of this cancer. You may learn more about kids with cancer, their loving families, the doctors and caregivers who look after them and treat them, the young survivors of cancer and those kids and teens who lost their battle, and the scientists who work hard to find a way to stop childhood cancer.
This year, our research team will run the Pub Quiz on September 18th, 2024, in honour of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. All donations will go to the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Research Foundation (CFNRF).
If you would like to get involved in this amazing challenge and help us raise vital funds for childhood cancers, you can contribute to our fundraising page:
A wonderful day of knitting – Knit-A-Thon-2023 raised 913 euros. A massive thank you to everyone who stopped by and donated on the day and beyond. Every cent counts! The money was split evenly between our four chosen charities: The Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Research Foundation (CFNRF), Neuroblastoma UK (NBUK), Oscars Kids and Childhood Cancer Ireland (CCI). These charities were established and are run by parents, some of whom lost their children to cancer. They continue their children’s legacy, doing an amazing job of advocating for children with cancer and better funding for research and aftercare.
And a special thank you to Ciara’s mam Aggie for the amazing handmade raffle prizes (chromosomes, antibodies, cup holders and many more) and a Master class on the day! We thank Jenny Duffy (RCSI Events and Communications Coordinator) for her time crocheting with us and for us! Thanks to Anggie’s and Jenny’s skills, there were lots of mascots to win – and many of them collected already. We much appreciate the support from the RCSI Estates and Porters who looked after us on the day.
Go Raibh Maith Agat!!!
MANY THANKS FOR YOUR BIG HEARTS!!!
We are the Cancer Bioengineering Group, and September is a very special month for us as it is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Childhood cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death in children after accidents. Our group researches childhood cancer neuroblastoma, a cancer of immature nerve cells. Despite intensive multimodal treatment, as many as 1 in 5 children with aggressive neuroblastoma do not respond, and up to 50% of children that do respond experience disease recurrence with many metastatic tumours resistant to many drugs and more aggressive tumour behaviour that all too frequently results in death.
This is what we want to change! We believe that every child deserves a future, and our team of postgraduate researchers led by Dr Olga Piskareva is dedicated to strengthening our knowledge of this disease and identifying new potential ways to tackle it, as well as taking part in fundraising activities so our group and others can continue with this research.
On Tuesday, the 19th of September, we are running a Knit-A-Thon using gold and purple yarn to mark childhood cancer and neuroblastoma, respectively. Our patterns are inspired by Neuroblastoma UK and Mr Google, indeed.
This year, we honour 4 charities that are doing an amazing job of advocating for children with cancer and better funding for research and aftercare. Therefore, the donations we receive will be split equally among The Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Research Foundation (CFNRF), Neuroblastoma UK (NBUK), Oscars Kids and Childhood Cancer Ireland (CCI). If you would like to get involved in the Knit-A-Thon and help us raise vital funds for childhood cancers, come along on the day and make a donation to these wonderful charities.
On the day, RCSI 123 SSG will #GoGold in support of this cause. Please come by to see the RCSI building lit up and share your pictures on social media with the hashtag #ChildhoodCancerAwarenessMonth to raise awareness.
Every year we manage to raise an amazing 1500-2000 euros by organising a new challenge. We are eager to surpass that target this year. All donations no matter how small are appreciated at GoFundMe.
Hi there, Ciara here again, a final-year PhD student in our research group. I can’t believe September has rolled around again, meaning one thing: it’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM). In honour of this month, I would like to tell you a little bit about the childhood cancer we study in our lab and the research that I do to one day help save children from this disease.
Neuroblastoma is an aggressive childhood cancer, with sadly only 20% of late-stage patients surviving after 5 years. Progressive disease and cancer relapse are common in neuroblastoma. This is due to standard treatment regimens not being adequate for treating high-risk patients. Current treatment also may cause a series of adverse reactions in patients. Therefore, my research focuses on developing a 3D model of high-risk neuroblastoma that models the cancer more accurately in a laboratory setting. This will act as a beneficial platform to test whether new therapies effectively fight the patients’ cancer cells, leading to better treatment options for children with neuroblastoma.
Below is a picture of how we grow these cancerous cells on our 3D model and visualise them with fluorescent stains. When we can see them like this under a microscope, we can study how they move and grow to help us understand how to treat them.
As you may know, every year, we support amazing charities by raising vital funds to keep the fight against childhood cancer going. Keep your eyes peeled on our Twitter for updates on what crazy activity we have committed to this year!!
Written by Ciara Gallagher
Every September, we celebrate Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness about childhood cancer. Unfortunately, kids get cancer, too. While much research has been done to understand how cancer develops in adults, we still know very little about what exactly leads to cancer in children.
We are the Cancer BioEngineering Group led by Dr Olga Piskareva at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Our research focuses on neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer of immature nerves. The group has 7 PhD students developing research projects around neuroblastoma biology. One postgraduate student successfully defended her work and was awarded a PhD last month.
We are a dynamic group proud to be engaged in research, science communication and patient involvement. We do that through different initiatives. Throughout September, we will share many of them and invite you to keep following us on social media.
Our projects address topics related to neuroblastoma microenvironment, cell interactions, tumour resistance and the development of new therapies. To do that, we use 3D in vitro models, identify immunotherapeutic targets and evaluate extracellular vesicles.
We are always happy to answer questions and interact with the public. Follow us on our social media channels and read our blog to learn more about us and our research.
We are running a fundraising event, “A knit-a-thon,” on the 19th of September. Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading, and we go ahead with neuroblastoma research!