Cancer
Brain cancer makes up 16 percent of new childhood cancer diagnoses and is the leading cause of cancer-related death in children and teens. With over 100 subtypes, pediatric brain tumors are rare and complex to diagnose and treat. Moreover, they differ genetically from adult tumors, making standard adult treatments less effective and potentially harmful. Despite this fact, adult treatments are often used in children.
Children’s developing brains are especially vulnerable, often facing long-term effects from treatment. Beyond improving diagnostics and therapies, there is a growing need for better psychological support and rehabilitation. Addressing these needs is critical for helping children not only survive but also thrive after treatment.
To accelerate progress in the field, SPARC encourages collaboration and gathers insights from experts across diagnostics, research, clinical trials, and rehabilitation. Partnering with philanthropists, SPARC helps to strategically deploy capital to propel scientific advancement and fast-track improved treatments and rehabilitative interventions.
SPARC accelerates childhood brain cancer research by uniting experts and directing philanthropic funding to fast-track scientific breakthroughs, treatments, and rehabilitation.
In 2022, SPARC assessed the state of the field and funding landscape to uncover where philanthropic funding could have the greatest impact in childhood brain cancer. These findings are detailed in the Giving Smarter Guide, a resource designed to help philanthropists make informed, high-impact contributions toward improving pediatric brain cancer research and care.
Since 2022, the SPARC team has partnered with an anonymous donor committed to transforming therapeutic options and care for pediatric patients with brain tumors. This collaboration invests transformational funding in leading institutions in the Washington, DC, area to drive progress and establish improved standards of care for the entire field.
Childhood brain cancers are among the rarest and most difficult to treat, but new models of collaboration are changing what’s possible. This article explores how philanthropy, advocacy, and cross-sector partnerships are breaking down barriers and accelerating progress toward better treatments.
Collaboration across the rare disease community has driven major breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment. Innovative, data-driven approaches pioneered in this field are now shaping a new model for medical research—one that could improve outcomes and reduce costs across all diseases.
Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in children and teens. A transformative philanthropic gift is now reshaping the field by supporting new therapies, patient care, and collaborative research.