TARGET: Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments

TARGET applies a comprehensive genomic approach to determine molecular changes that drive childhood cancers. Investigators form a collaborative network to facilitate discovery of molecular targets and translate those findings into the clinic. TARGET is managed by NCI’s Office of Cancer Genomics and Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program.

Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments

News & Publications

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July 03, 2017

The genomic landscape of pediatric and young adult T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Genetic alterations that activate NOTCH1 signaling and T cell transcription factors, coupled with inactivation of the INK4/ARF tumor suppressors, are hallmarks of T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), but detailed genome-wide sequencing of large T-ALL cohorts has not been carried out....

CAT scan image of GBM
April 03, 2017

Co-amplification of phosphoinositide 3-kinase enhancer A and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 triggers glioblastoma progression

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor and has a dismal prognosis. Amplification of chromosome 12q13-q15 (Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) amplicon) is frequently observed in numerous human cancers including GBM. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase enhancer (PIKE) is a group of GTP-...

H&E image of Pancreatic cancer
March 06, 2017

Distinct populations of inflammatory fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) differentiate into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that produce desmoplastic stroma, thereby modulating disease progression and therapeutic response in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). However, it is unknown whether CAFs uniformly carry out these...

karyogram of Chromosomes
February 08, 2017

Copy-number and gene dependency analysis reveals partial copy loss of wild-type SF3B1 as a novel cancer vulnerability.

Genomic instability is a hallmark of human cancer, and results in widespread somatic copy number alterations. We used a genome-scale shRNA viability screen in human cancer cell lines to systematically identify genes that are essential in the context of particular copy-number alterations (copy-...

T-cells surrounding a tumor cell
February 06, 2017

Tumor-Infiltrating Merkel Cell Polyomavirus-Specific T Cells Are Diverse and Associated with Improved Patient Survival.

Tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells are associated with improved survival of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), an aggressive skin cancer causally linked to Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). However, CD8+ T-cell infiltration is robust in only 4% to 18% of MCC tumors. We characterized the T-...

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Projects

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of white blood cells, the cells in the body that normally fight infection.

View Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Project Page

Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer that originates in the bone marrow from immature white blood cells known as myeloblasts. About 25% of all children with leukemia have AML. 

View Acute Myeloid Leukemia Project Page

Kidney Tumors

Pediatric kidney tumors fall into four primary categories: Wilms tumors (~85% of all cases), clear cell sarcomas of the kidney (~5%), congenital mesoblastic nephromas (~4%), and rhabdoid tumors of the kidney (~3%). The TARGET initiative is investigating three of these tumor types.

View Kidney Tumors Project Page

Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NBL) is a cancer that arises in immature nerve cells of the sympathetic nervous system, primarily affecting infants and children.

View Neuroblastoma Project Page

Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents.

View Osteosarcoma Project Page
Last updated: February 16, 2017

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