Dear PPB Research Supporter,
As a pediatric pathologist with a special interest in the diagnosis and biology of pediatric cancer, I understand very well that rare diseases often receive less recognition and support from governmental and other large granting agencies than diseases which are more common. It often takes decades to learn basic principles about a disease. In stark contrast to many other rare tumors, our understanding of clinical, pathologic and biologic aspects of PPB have grown tremendously in the past 20 years with the inspired contributions of Dr. Jack Priest, Dr. Louis P. Dehner and colleagues. This work would not have been possible without the generous support of the PPB Registry by the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic and the Theodora H. Lang Charitable Trust.
We are now at a very exciting time in the study of PPB. With funding from the Hope Street Kids Foundation, the Children’s Discovery Institute at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the Siteman Cancer Center and the Department of Pathology at Washington University and numerous family members of children with PPB, we were able to discover an important genetic predisposition to developing PPB. We have now our sights set on developing new methods of detecting which children are at risk and modeling the disease to better understand what makes PPB grow and potential ways to make it stop growing.
We have a lot of work left to do. Call us today to join our team and help us get to our most important goal – finding a cure for PPB.
Respectfully yours,
D. Ashley Hill, M.D. Director of Pathology Operations, International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Registry Chief of Pathology, Children’s National Medical Center
