Supporting Research for Targeted Treatment of PFA Ependymoma

The Ependymoma Research Foundation was established in 2019 with a mission to directly fund research aimed at developing a chemotherapeutic agent specifically targeted to PFA (posterior fossa group A) ependymoma, an aggressive and rare brain tumor affecting young children.

PFA ependymoma primarily affects children, with a median age of diagnosis of just 3 years old, and has a five-year survival rate of only 56%. Current treatment protocols involve extensive surgery and radiation, which often result in long recovery times and permanent deficits. Currently, no targeted chemotherapy exists to address the residual tumor cells that remain after surgery.

Over the past five years, the Foundation has supported multiple research projects investigating a key protein called EZHIP, which is found in 95% of all PFA ependymomas. This protein represents a promising target for the development of a more effective, targeted treatment. To this end, the Foundation is currently funding an innovative project at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, focused on developing a targeted protein degrader to interrupt the growth of PFA ependymoma tumors.

To deepen our understanding of how EZHIP drives PFA ependymoma, the Foundation is now seeking to raise $100,000 to fund critical research aimed at evaluating the heterogeneity of EZHIP across different subtypes of PFA ependymoma. This research will also explore the intracellular interactions between individual tumor cells, providing crucial insights into the mechanisms that fuel this devastating disease. The study will be conducted at the Gallo Lab at the Baylor College of Medicine.

For more information about our work, please visit www.ependymomaresearchfoundation.org.

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