Imagine for Margo and its European partners—KickCancer (Belgium), Kriibskrank Kanner (Luxembourg), KiKa (Netherlands), and Cris Cancer (Spain)—are proud to announce the selected programs for the 2024 Fight Kids Cancer call for projects, this year dedicated to brain tumors!
Eight projects, including two clinical trials and six translational research programs, will be funded by the Fight Kids Cancer members with a total commitment of €10.7 million—a sum already exceeding their 2025 goal. This achievement is a great source of pride for the founding organizations, including Imagine for Margo, and reflects the growth and strength of Fight Kids Cancer after just four years in existence.
Imagine for Margo expects to contribute €2.5 million to fund the programs of this 2024 call, thanks to funds raised during the Enfants sans Cancer charity runs, the Rallyes du Cœur events, and the Cycles de l’immobilier initiative.
Join us for the Enfants sans Cancer race on September 29 at the Domaine national de Saint-Cloud or virtually, to help fund these extensive projects and bring renewed hope for recovery to children, adolescents, and young adults affected by cancer.
An Independent Selection Process Focused on Excellence, Innovation, and Impact for Pediatric Patients
Fight Kids Cancer is managed in partnership with the European Science Foundation (ESF), an organization with a network of 300,000 researchers and over 2,000 programs in 30 countries. This collaboration with highly skilled professionals ensures the independence and excellence of the overall management of the call for projects.
Each project is reviewed by a committee of distinguished experts internationally recognized in the field of pediatric cancer research. Projects are evaluated on three criteria: patient impact, scientific excellence, and innovation. They will be funded by Imagine for Margo, as well as KickCancer, Kriibskrank Kanner, Cris Cancer, and KiKa.
The Program Committee, in charge of selecting projects based on expert recommendations, includes independent international experts: Peter Adamson, Andrew Pearson, Anne Rios, Julia Glade Bender, Bissan AI Lazikani, and Kenneth Cohen.
This year, eight major projects focusing on brain tumors were selected out of 22 submissions. The 2024 call centered on central nervous system tumors, including brain tumors in children, adolescents, and young adults. Many of these tumors still have low survival rates, lack adequate treatment options, and those who do survive often endure lifelong side effects. Fight Kids Cancer is therefore dedicating its efforts to address this tumor type.
An Urgent Need to Increase Survival Rates for Brain Tumors
Each year, 3,000 children and adolescents in Europe, including 500 in France, are diagnosed with brain cancer—the most common and particularly difficult-to-treat type of tumor. However, projects supported by Imagine for Margo have improved understanding of these cancers and led to promising therapeutic paths.
For example, the BIOMEDE trial (funded by Enfants sans Cancer races in 2014, 2017, and 2019) allowed eight children to achieve long-term survival from a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a previously incurable cancer that previously offered only a few months of survival post-diagnosis. Furthermore, genetic analysis of biopsies from children in the study has now identified the key alterations to target in order to improve the chances of recovery from this devastating disease. Imagine for Margo continues to support projects that explore these therapeutic possibilities, aiming to develop more targeted treatments and offer new hope.
Encouraged by past successes and confident in the potential for further progress, Imagine for Margo, along with its partners in the Fight Kids Cancer 2024 call, is funding research programs dedicated solely to understanding and developing new treatments for brain tumors, especially high-risk ones. All of these European-level research projects were selected by independent experts for their scientific excellence, innovation, and their impact on improving cure rates and quality of life for children, adolescents, and young adults.
The 2024 call holds special significance for Imagine for Margo, 14 years after Margo’s passing from an incurable brain tumor, a glioblastoma, at the age of 14.
Projects Funded by the 2024 Fight Kids Cancer Call for Projects:
- ELICIT: A platform for early-phase immuno-oncology clinical trials for pediatric-type malignant tumors. The goal is to bridge the gap between early results and larger-scale clinical implementation, demonstrating effectiveness through harmonized clinical, imaging, and immune response methods in children with malignant brain tumors.
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Jacques Grill, Gustave Roussy, France.
- Countries: France, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands.
- Duration: 2 years.
- REVIIH-BT: Evaluating the effectiveness of a program to restore the visual field in children with hemianopia following a brain tumor. This international trial uses virtual reality to enhance the visual field, improving quality of life.
- Principal Investigator: Prof. Michael Reber, INSERM, France.
- Countries: France, Spain, Denmark, United Kingdom, Austria, Netherlands, Italy.
- Duration: 3 years.
- RADIO-MEDSCREEN: Dual chemo-genomic screening to improve radiotherapy for medulloblastoma. Combining advanced screening technology, new drug and radiotherapy combinations will be developed to create more effective treatments for children.
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Eddie Pasquier, Cancer Research Center of Marseille, France.
- Country: France.
- Duration: 3 years.
- MiMiC-Kids: Exploring microglia-cancer cell interaction to enhance immune response against gliomas. Using patient-derived 3D tumor “avatars,” the study will test new therapies to aid children with gliomas.
- Principal Investigator: Prof. Florent Ginhoux, Gustave Roussy, France.
- Countries: France, United Kingdom.
- Duration: 48 months.
- FIGHT4MB: Developing the first preclinical genetic mouse models for Group 4 medulloblastoma (G4MB) to better understand and treat this tumor.
- Principal Investigator: Prof. Adriana Sánchez Danés, Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal.
- Countries: Portugal, Germany, Spain.
- Duration: 4 years.
- EUROPE: Studying the unknown origins of relapse in pediatric ependymoma. By identifying candidate drugs, the project aims to lead to a clinical trial for recurring ependymomas across Europe.
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Kristian Pajtler, Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Germany.
- Countries: Germany, Netherlands.
- Duration: 3 years.
- ITCC-BrainTAP: A platform to accelerate translation of brain research for pediatric brain tumors, aiming to close the gap between fundamental research results and clinical advancements.
- Principal Investigator: Prof. David Jones, Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Germany.
- Countries: Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Austria.
- Duration: 3 years.
- SOUP: Liquid biopsy study to personalize treatment for pediatric brain tumors, aiming for earlier detection, optimized surgical planning, and real-time monitoring of response to treatment.
Through the 2024 call, Fight Kids Cancer is bringing vital hope to children and young adults affected by brain tumors, paving the way for future therapeutic breakthroughs and improved survival rates.
