By Admin at 20 Dec 2016, 16:04 PM
When baby Jasmine was just 4 months old, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a type of cancer that begins in lymphocytes (a form of white blood cell) in bone marrow.
If left untreated, ALL can be fatal within months, but while standard treatments are available for this condition, Jasmine’s age and location severely limited her treatment options. This is because new therapies for treatment of ALL in babies under the age of one are extremely limited. Moreover, Jasmine’s native country of Trinidad lacks resources such as clinical trials.
Adding to her challenges, she had an extremely high white blood cell count and was considered to be at high risk for complications. Pediatric patients with ALL have a dismal outlook with only a 20% chance of relapse free survival.
Her initial treatment in Trinidad proved to be unsuccessful, but her prognosis turned dramatically around after she was enrolled in an innovative, multi-institutional clinical trial funded by Gateway for Cancer Research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
The little girl, who was affectionately given the nickname “Princess Jasmine” because of her beautiful brown eyes, was transported, along with her family, to St. Jude, where she took part in the clinical trial.
Under the direction of Dr. Tanja Gruber, MD, PhD, Jasmine was treated with a combination of two U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs, which were incorporated into a standard chemotherapy treatment meant to interrupt the genetic pathways unique to ALL.
Jasmine also required treatment for a skin infection, which was likely caused by an unclean needle used for an IV in Trinidad. During the trial, she was able to receive a skin graft while also undergoing the clinical trial protocol. She tolerated the experimental treatment exceptionally well, with only a manageable cause of high blood pressure as a side effect.
After five months of treatment, baby Jasmine was in complete remission with no evidence of disease. She celebrated her first birthday December 12, 2016 — a precious gift that is expected to be her first of many birthdays to come. Jasmine is working to overcome some developmental delays caused by the amount of time she spent in the hospital, but she is expected to catch up to her peers.
Jasmine’s case is a moving example of the importance of clinical trials for cancer, especially in pediatric patients. At Gateway, 99 cents of every dollar received goes directly to fund Phase I and Phase II clinical trials like the one that saved baby Jasmine’s life.
At present, only about 3 percent of adult cancer patients, and about 60 percent of pediatric patients, participate in clinical trials. With your help, Gateway can continue its mission to fund breakthrough clinical trials in the hope that one day every cancer patient, like baby Jasmine, will have access to life-saving treatment.
It costs just $16.56 to fund one patient for one day in a Gateway-funded clinical trial. Help us fund another day of research. Fund one day, one week or more — make your tax-deductible donation TODAY! If you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this post with family and friends. Together, we can shape a world in which a cancer diagnosis is no longer feared.
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Current Gateway-funded clinical trials
150+
Clinical trials funded at leading institutions worldwide
$16.56
Funds one patient for one day at a Gateway-funded clinical trial
