Cura Placida
Our aim is to promote and research targeted and highly efficient cancer therapies in order to improve the quality of life and prospects of children suffering from cancer in the long term.
About Cura Placida
Our aim is to promote and research targeted and
highly efficient cancer therapies
The main objective of the foundation is to promote the development and application of individualized curative therapies for children with blood disorders and cancer, particularly with regard to gentle treatment procedures and the avoidance of undesirable long-term effects of treatment.
Goal & claim
In particular, projects are to be funded that serve medical research and, in connection with this, the improvement of treatment. Long-term goals also include the development of cost-effective treatment methods in this area so that these therapies can also be carried out in countries with a less well-developed medical infrastructure. In addition, the general living situation of children and young people suffering from cancer is to be improved.
The foundation aims to support research projects that use new technologies to develop and improve individualized curative treatments (curative targeted therapies). As these new forms of therapy can combat cancer cells in a much more targeted manner than previously possible, this approach promises significantly fewer side effects and therefore a “gentler cure” than previously possible.
Values & Vision
Life-threatening human diseases, including the broad spectrum of cancers, are an issue that cannot be limited to any one nationality or continent.
They are among the issues that affect everyone worldwide and represent an enormous challenge for all doctors in their fight for human life. In order to keep pace with the constantly changing and evolutionary adaptation of modern diseases to humans, existing therapies must also be constantly developed, adapted and optimized. In order to win this race, cross-border cooperation in medicine and science is essential, as sound and sustainable success can often only be achieved with combined knowledge and resources.
Research & promotion
The foundation pursues a science-based, broad-based, holistic and comprehensive approach to promoting children’s health.
In particular, medical research for children requires citizen initiative. In addition to increased political attention for children’s rights and corporate social responsibility, the interests of our modern society cannot fulfill the right of children to research and cure deadly diseases to the necessary extent and is therefore dependent on donations.
Commitment with heart and sensitivity
Unfortunately, childhood cancers are often a much too inconspicuous facet on the priority list of research-based medicine, although it is precisely our children who hold the fragile future of all human beings in their hands. Making our children mentally, emotionally and physically fit for the future should be the concern of us all. Equipped with a political lobby that is far too small, it is therefore up to us private individuals and big names from all areas of society to take the initiative with heart and mind in order to better protect healthy children and give sick children even better prospects of a cure by stepping up support for children’s cancer research worldwide.
Holistic cancer treatment
To a greater extent than most adult medical specialties, pediatric medicine embraces the concept that doctors must take biological, psychological and social factors as well as ethical aspects into account. The focus here is on the child’s developmental vulnerabilities, e.g. its particular sensitivity to toxins of all kinds, including conventional cancer therapies.
Holistic medicine is based on today’s ability to collect an unimaginable wealth of data on the state of health of a single individual, from genetic activity and physical functional parameters to the smallest metabolic products. Bioinformatics and artificial intelligence make systems medicine possible here, i.e. a holistic examination of a wide variety of biological systems with comprehensive coverage of all areas of the individual patient’s life.
Future
The holistic approach of systems medicine can not only open up new treatment options, but also detect childhood cancers at an early stage.
One of the foundation’s missions is to overcome reservations about research for children by developing new, well-tolerated cancer therapies: children should not be protected from research, but with research.
“In contrast to adults, there are unfortunately still too few targeted therapies tailored to children. Until now, treatment for children with cancer has usually involved a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and, if necessary, surgery. As a doctor, but above all as a mother, supporting Cura Placida is therefore a matter close to my heart and I hope that my patronage and my network will help to further improve the treatment options for children with cancer.”
Dr. Tatiana Princess of Bavaria
Patroness Cura Placida
Research projects
Background and goals
While around three out of four children with cancer can be cured in Germany today, the cure rates are lower for certain subgroups of cancer and for advanced stages of the disease. For example, two out of three patients with bone tumors are cured at an early stage, but only 15% or fewer patients with bone metastases (secondary tumors) or early recurrences (recurrence of the disease) are cured.
The three “classic” forms of therapy for curing cancer are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy make use of the fact that in many types of cancer, the relatively high cell division rate of cancer tissue makes it more susceptible to certain cytotoxins and certain high-energy radiation than healthy tissue. During the operation, the cancerous tissue is removed. To ensure that all cancer cells are removed, healthy tissue around the tumor is removed with a safety margin. Due to these peculiarities of the “classic” forms of cancer therapy, survivors often suffer from mutilation, radiation damage and long-term effects of the toxic drugs.
In addition to the fate of the individual, this also has a social significance. With one in 250 adults aged between 15 and 45 years being a survivor of childhood cancer in 2010, the adverse long-term effects of therapies can become a significant problem for society as a whole, particularly in an ageing society.
The decoding of the human genome has made it possible to identify tumor-specific molecular signatures, particularly in children. Today, high-throughput technologies make it possible to identify selective therapeutic target structures at the level of DNA, RNA, protein and cellular function. Using DNA microarray technology, for example, a number of tumor-specific genes have been identified in children’s cancer cells. New therapeutic and diagnostic options are being developed on the basis of these results. Various strategies are being pursued to block the function of individual genes, to generate immune responses against products of these genes or to derive new diagnostic approaches based on tumor-specific markers.
The identification of genes responsible for cell degeneration and the characterization of malignant growth, in which the normal rules of proliferation, tissue spread, vascularization, cell death, metabolism and other fundamental properties are altered, have led to enormous progress in cancer research over the last 10 years. They have given rise to the hope that new successes in cure rates can be achieved through molecularly targeted therapies that attack target structures in the tumor cell. In contrast to conventional chemotherapy, which aims to damage the tumor cells so that they die, molecularly targeted therapy is the basis of precision medicine. It postulates that it should be possible to treat cancer in an individualized, personalized and targeted manner by detecting molecular changes.
Our brochure provides an overview of representative projects that have been supported by the foundation over the past 10 years.
F.A.Q
Frequently asked questions
Why do children need different forms of therapy than adults?
While cancer in adults is based on the accumulation of mutagenic influences over an increasingly long life span, childhood cancers are “accidents of growth and development”. Both are highly complex processes that are prone to errors. While cancers in adults can also be linked to lifestyle preferences, in children they are fated. Due to their different development, cancers in children and adults require different treatments. In particular, the vulnerability of the growing and developing organism of children must be taken into account.
What is the function of Cura Placida in the context of pediatric oncology?
Pediatric oncology has a variety of tasks in research, teaching and patient care. The portfolio ranges from the further development of conventional therapy methods, research into new healing methods and psycho-oncology to palliative medicine. Within this broad spectrum of pediatric oncology, the foundation focuses on promoting research into specific mechanisms of childhood cancer in order to enable the development of early diagnoses and targeted therapies. Targeted therapies are intended to target the malignant growth of the cancer cells, but must spare the healthy growth of the child.
What are the most common forms of therapy supported by Cura placida?
In addition to targeted attacks on the mechanisms of the malignant process in tumor cells, we are currently experiencing an enormous renaissance of the concept of immunotherapy. In principle, the immune system is able to kill off altered cells. This happens permanently, e.g. in the case of viral infections. Over the last ten years, it has been shown that the immune system, which is apparently “blinded” by tumor cells, can actually be directed in its killing effect on the tumor cells. Furthermore, the identification of target structures on the cell surface has opened up the possibility of pursuing new therapeutic options using customized antibodies. What all these approaches have in common is that they use precision tools to target molecularly defined structures and mechanisms in tumor cells. There are currently over 40 active studies in pediatric oncology worldwide (www.clinicaltrials.gov), in which innovative therapeutic approaches with new targeted drugs or immunotherapy are being tested.
