Hannah's Heroes are gearing up for their annual golf tournament as the research funded by the foundation is starting to bear some fruit.
All the money raised by the foundation goes directly to pediatric brain cancer research at the Child and Family Research Institute at B.C. Children's Hospital. Dr. Sandra Dunn heads the research team and recently reported on some exciting advances in the team's work.
"There's a lot of really exciting news coming out of the research," she said. "The momentum is just incredible right now... Research does make a difference."
The overall goal of the team's research is to identify safer, more effective treatments for pediatric brain tumours.
"What we're really interested in is ways of identifying patients in need of better care," Dunn said, adding that when it comes to treating brain tumours and cancers, one size does not fit all.
Through its research, the team has discovered that brain tumour cells need a particular protein, Pololike kinase-1 (PLK-1), to survive and grow. Scientists also found that patients had different levels of PLK-1, and those that had a higher level of the protein did not respond as well to treatment and were more likely to die from the disease.
The team has discovered that using a drug to inhibit the PLK-1 protein can significantly suppress brain tumour growth while not affecting normal cells.
The team recently published its findings in the Journal of Cancer Research at the same time another research team in the U.S. published the same findings.
The drug has been tested in the lab, but is now ready to move onto the next phase.
Dunn said the team is currently looking for an organization interested in running the clinical
trial, which goes through three phases and can take several years before a treatment is approved.
"It's certainly providing hope," Dunn said of the team's work. "It's an investment of a lifetime for these kids."
The team was also able to purchase some new technology that allows it to get more in-depth information about different tumours.
"The goal is to provide a deeper understanding of tumours to provide better treatment," Dunn said. "We have gotten just incredible data from it... We can sub type every new tumour that comes through the door."
The team is almost entirely funded by Hannah's Heroes. Funds raised by the foundation have helped purchase lab equipment and established several fellowships to support graduate students working on the project.
To help raise those funds, Hannah's Heroes holds many fundraising events throughout the year, including the annual Merry Wishers Golf Tournament, which is back again this year for its fifth installment.
The tournament is scheduled for Friday, June 13 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen. Golfers will tee off in a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. Tickets cost $160 and include golf as well as a banquet complete with silent and live auctions. The tourney features prizes on the course as well as a raffle for two tickets anywhere WestJet flies.
Organizers are still looking for sponsors.
Hannah's Heroes was established in 2007 in memory of Hannah Hatlen, the Tsawwassen youngster who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at just four years old. She died a year later.
For more information about the foundation, or to register for the Merry Wishers Golf Tournament, visit www.hannahsheroes.com/events.
