Your support will help scientists study links between obesity and childhood cancer outcomes.

Childhood obesity is a serious health problem. There’s already evidence that the more obese adults are and the longer they remain obese, the more likely they are to develop cancer. It is not known whether obese children are at higher risk of developing cancer; however, it is known that children who are obese and develop cancer will experience worse outcomes than non-obese children.

How your donation helps:

Justin Ryder, PhD, and Lucie Turcotte, MD, will use the funding to study the interplay between obesity and childhood cancer. They plan to investigate whether markers found in the body play a role in treatment response in children newly diagnosed with acute leukemia, with and without obesity. This study will provide foundational research to help scientists study why obese children are more resistant to standard leukemia therapy and develop new treatments to improve outcomes for kids with obesity and cancer.