New medicines to tackle pedriatic cancer 'imperative' in Europe

Back in 2016, Fé suddenly started falling ill frequently.

After spending months in the hospital, Fé was not getting better. Her parents then noticed she was losing motion in her left arm. This triggered doctors, and an x-ray found that she had a tumour in her brain.

"Then they sent the tumour to the lab," explains Sam Daems, Fé's father from his home in Geel, Belgium.  "And five days later they brought us the news that the tumour was actually an aggressive type of brain tumour, called ATRT. [It's] a very rare indication, which doesn't occur that often at all in children. But when you are diagnosed, with that malignancy, you know that you really don't have a lot of options."

Fé passed away some 6 months after the diagnosis after undergoing chemo and radiotherapy.

She was just 2 years old.

Some 35,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in the EU.

Incidence can amount to almost 18 cases for every 100,000 children and young adults.

For Fe's father, Europe's way of treating cancer in children is beyond outdated and we are far behind.

"All of these therapies, they are technologies of the middle of the last century. The chemotherapy compounds, they were developed in the 60s of the last century and they are still used today to attack these tumours, because there is not more precise therapeutic available in the clinical world today."

For some types of paediatric cancer, there is no effective treatment - or no treatment at all. Some therapeutical approaches have changed little in the last 30 years.

Further research, investments and regulatory efforts are thus imperative, claims a foundation advocating for more action against paediatric cancer.

The Kickcancer Foundation is pushing for further research and investment against