Dominik Sturm from Heidelberg receives the prize for his application of molecular diagnostic analysis methods that enable a more accurate diagnosis and classification of CNS tumors in children and adolescents. The costs of these procedures are already reimbursed by German health insurance companies, as they allow the course of the disease and therefore also the course of treatment to be predicted more reliably and thus, enable precise planning. He would like to use the prize money to further develop the analysis methods and enable them to be used globally - especially in countries affected by poverty.
Tim Flaadt from the University Hospital of Tübingen has conducted a large clinical study in which an antibody specifically directed against neuroblastomas was used after stem cell transplantation from a parent. Neuroblastomas are malignant tumors of immature nerve cells that affect around 120 children every year in Germany alone. About half of them suffer a recurrence, meaning a new tumor formation after healing. Until now, the chance of survival for neuroblastoma recurrence was only 10 to 20 percent. The study achieved the best published results to date for this patient cohort, with an overall survival rate of over 50 percent.
The prize was named in honor of Erna Brunner, a three-year-old cancer patient at the time. All conventional therapies were unable to help the girl, who was suffering from leukemia. The newly developed antibodies in Tübingen offered a last hope. In order to produce these for Erna, the research team needed financial support. Erna's parents worked tirelessly for a fundraising campaign, which was initiated by the Tübingen Children's Cancer Society Foundation and extended far beyond the original goal. Unfortunately, Erna died at the age of 5 before the fundraising campaign could produce enough antibodies. The prestigious prize was established in her memory and has been awarded annually since 2014 for outstanding research work in the fight against childhood cancer.
Source: Die Stiftung des Fördervereins für krebskranke Kinder Tübingen
