PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY
TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

prof. MUDr. Jaroslav Štěrba, Ph.D.

E-mail: jaroslav.sterba@fnusa.cz

Key words

Personalized Pediatric Oncology, Metronomic Chemotherapy, Long Term Follow Up.

Research focus

  • Personalized, precision pediatric oncology using up to date theranostic approaches in order to increase survival and decrease long term morbidity and sequelae from the disease and necessary therapies.
  • Rational incorporation of new anticancer drugs into earlier lines of treatment based on comprehensive DNA, RNA and proteomic analyses of the tumor and the patient as the host.
  • Establishment of functional regional model for long term follow up with transition of care from pediatric to adult services as the platform to study long term toxicities, risk factors and possible ways to decrease the treatment burden.
  • Unique and well characterized population of young adults – former pediatric oncology patients who are in risk of late toxicity from the disease and the treatment and who should be looked after and further studied in many areas, mainly cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, pulmonology.
  • Establishment of academic clinical studies related to the aforementioned issues.
  • Established cooperation with international pediatric oncology centers in Europe and the US. In a close corperation, for instance:
    • Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    • Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
    • AP-HM, Marseille, France
    • Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK

Main goals

  • Personalized precision pediatric oncology based on comprehensive assessment of the tumor and the host.
  • Decreasing the disease and treatment related morbidity and mortality while studying long term survivors and running juvenile animal studies for new anticancer medicines.
  • CSF proteomic project for children with brain tumors and leukemia and NHL. Analysis of possible biomarkers.

Technological Equipment

  • Mass Spectrometry – CSF proteomic analyzes
  • Phosphoproteomic Facility – phosphoproteomic analyzes
  • High-Performance Liquid Chromatography – sample analyzes