Fund research to power cures that reduce the percentage of children who perish from cancers until that number reaches zero.
Make it possible for all children facing childhood cancers to beat their disease and achieve their full potential so they can realize happy, healthy, productive futures.
To raise funds to accelerate scientific breakthroughs that transform pediatric cancer care so kids with cancer can spread their wings and soar.
Since 1982, the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF) has pursued one bold mission: to ensure every child with cancer not only survives but thrives. With less than 4% of federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatrics, PCRF is meeting this crisis head-on by advancing science, strengthening the workforce, and supporting lifelong survivorship.
Through our Biomedical Lifecycle Model, we fund innovative research for safer treatments, inspire and support the next generation of pediatric oncology professionals, and expand survivorship and mental health programs for children and families.
To date, PCRF has invested more than $61 million in research, driving breakthroughs that change outcomes for kids. Together with our partners, supporters, and the research community, we are transforming pediatric cancer care and creating brighter futures for families everywhere.
The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation exists for one reason: to power cures and improve outcomes for children with cancer until no child is lost to this disease.
What sets PCRF apart is our bold strategy, rooted in our Biomedical Lifecycle Model, which addresses every stage of the pediatric cancer journey- from cradle to career to cure. This framework ensures we not only fund lifesaving research but also build a sustainable pediatric oncology workforce and provide lifelong survivorship and mental health support for children and families.
Our approach makes us unique:
Compassionate, nimble, and determined, PCRF has already launched careers, cures, and even companies. With our new Institute Priorities- Powering Research, Equitable Care, and Survivorship & Mental Health- we are redefining what’s possible for children and families facing pediatric cancer. And we are just getting started.
Because of research, the cancer death rate has decreased more dramatically for children than any other age group.
Below are innovations that have been advanced with PCRF funding:
PCRF funded development of a new treatment approach pairing genetic engineering with immunotherapies and launched the first in-human protocol using T cells to target Leukemia.
This groundbreaking work proved that when CAR-T cells are infused back into the same patient, they can mount full-blown immune attacks on tumor cells. It also contributed to state-of-the-art therapies weaponizing the body’s immune system that are at the forefront of immuno-oncology today.
Our funding demonstrated the potential for immunotherapy to treat osteosarcoma, offering one of the only new treatments in almost 20 years. The breakthrough led to new treatments for adolescent and young adult patients who previously had no options.
PCRF funded diagnostic tests that predict which patients are likely to respond positively to the intensive treatment to JMML. This risk stratification allows for treatment decisions to be optimized, giving patients a higher likelihood of success in a disease with 50% survival rate.
Since 2008, PCRF funding has advanced treatments for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and builds on the insight that a protein called CREB is overproduced in AML patients. Research has focused on developing newer and better drugs to block CREB – causing AML cells to die. One drug is now in Phase 1 Trials.
For more than four decades, PCRF has been at the forefront of advancing promising research and driving change in pediatric cancer. While we recognize there is still so much more to learn to defeat the diseases that steal childhoods, we are more determined than ever to meet this challenge with urgency.
Our strategy is clear: generate the funding needed to accelerate groundbreaking research, build a sustainable pipeline by supporting the next generation of researchers and clinicians, and expand survivorship and mental health programs so children not only survive cancer but thrive beyond it.
We are not just contributing to history—we are determined to rewrite the future of pediatric cancer care. With your partnership, we will continue to power discoveries, build capacity, and create brighter tomorrows for children and families everywhere.
