The Hall Hunter Foundation is proud to support The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Since 2020, we have been funding the Paediatric and Adolescent Neuro-Oncology Clinical Research Program at The Royal Marsden. Our donations fund two roles in the team:
The Hall Hunter Fellowship in Paediatric Neuro-Oncology and Drug Development. The fellowship is a year-long clinical research position taken on by a senior paediatric oncology trainee who wants to specialise in paediatric neuro-oncology and drug development research. They help lead the delivery of clinical trials, which are looking for better ways to treat childhood brain and spinal cord tumours. All past Hall Hunter Fellows have gone on to secure Neuro-Oncology Consultant posts after their fellowship.
The Hall Hunter Senior Clinical Trial Coordinator. This specialist role is a vital part of the research team. They enable the set-up and conduct of clinical trials, providing the skills and expertise required to ensure these projects are run effectively.
The two Hall Hunter roles work together to deliver innovative research, which is helping to provide children, adolescents and young adults up to the age of 25 years who have advanced or recurrent tumours of the brain and spinal cord with greater access to new treatments. This work is bringing hope to children and their families by providing new options, while also contributing significantly to global research efforts aimed at bringing more effective treatments into routine clinical use.
The team’s recent highlights include playing a key role in the following trials:
ONC201-ACTION
This is an international trial evaluating a drug called dordaviprone (‘ONC201’) in children and adults with a type of high-grade glioma called ‘diffuse midline glioma’. The Royal Marsden is top recruiter in the UK for the paediatric and adolescent population.
LOGGIC-FIREFLY2
This is international trial is comparing a targeted therapy called tovorafenib against chemotherapy in children and adolescents with low-grade gliomas.
DETERMINE
This is the first UK all-age national platform trial for children, teenagers and adults with relapsed or treatment-resistant solid tumours, including tumours of the brain and spinal cord. DETERMINE will test many different new treatments, and children are being matched to the best treatment for them based on the genetic sequencing of their tumour.