Neuroblastoma Developmental Therapeutics Program
At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the Neuroblastoma Developmental Therapeutics (NBDT) team cares for children with high-risk neuroblastoma when standard treatments are no longer working. Our team is here to help families during one of the hardest times in their lives, and we never stop looking for answers.
For more than 25 years, our scientists and doctors have worked to understand why neuroblastoma arises in the first place, why it can be so aggressive, and how it changes over time. What makes the NBDT team special is our comprehensive approach. We bring together experts in cancer research, drug development, immunotherapy, imaging, advanced nursing and more — all focused on one goal: giving children with this complex disease the best care possible.
Every child’s cancer is different, and our team creates a care plan that is tailored to each child and their family. As the disease changes, so do we, adjusting treatments to stay one step ahead.
Our personalized treatment approach
NBDT team members care for children with neuroblastoma that is resistant to treatment (refractory) or has returned after treatment (relapsed). We work together to create new therapies for patients who have tried other options, and we seek innovative personalized approaches for each patient. Most recently, we have brought new neuroblastoma-specific immunotherapies to clinical trials. The NBDT team has a long history of collaborating with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to realize novel treatments tailored for specific changes in neuroblastoma cells. NBDT investigators were also founding members and have long-standing leadership roles in the New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT) consortium, an international collaboration to create new therapies for children with neuroblastoma.
Conditions we treat
While the NBDT team is focused on “high-risk” neuroblastoma, especially when standard therapy is no longer working, many of our therapies that we have created can be useful for children with other cancers.
Why choose the NBDT team
Key to the success of the NBDT team at CHOP has been the concept of total care for families, using individualized therapies to meet the unique needs of each patient and family. Our program is designed to enable the highest quality care with a patient-centered focus, coupled with a robust translational research program. We offer clinical trials when available and rational, and when clinical trials are not available or other approaches are preferred, we offer individualized care. Our multidisciplinary team is collaborative and well known internationally, assuring that each patient receives the best evidence-based recommendations and treatment and monitoring plan for their unique situation. We pride ourselves in partnerships and innovation, with a pipeline of new treatments that are designed to be safer and more effective than current therapies.
Our research
At CHOP, there is a uniquely rich history of discovery and innovation in the field of neuroblastoma. NBDT investigators have continuously made paradigm-shifting contributions to the understanding of neuroblastoma biology, with a focus on translating new research discoveries into patient care. The NBDT team has also made important contributions by creating new lab tests, which help determine each patient’s optimal treatment journey.
Patient stories
Meet our team
Our multidisciplinary team features physician-scientists who are international leaders in childhood cancer research and care, advanced practice nurses, research program coordinators, physicians, a nurse navigator, a social worker, radiologists including interventionalists, molecular pathologists, an intake coordinator, and several outstanding young physician-scientists translating their laboratory work to our clinical program.
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