Summer 2006 John Alston’s song of the soul page 12 isPromise a quarterly publication of the Department of Public Relations St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 332 N. Lauderdale St. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded by the late Memphis, Tennessee 38105 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s A publication of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Summer 2006 entertainer Danny Thomas. It opened February 4, 1962. The institution was created because mission is to find cures for children with catastrophic diseases through research Promise and treatment. of a promise Thomas made during the depression era to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint Features Hospital Director and 4 Three Times is a Charm of the hopeless. Chief Executive Officer Patient Sierra Josephsen William E. Evans, PharmD 7 ALSAC Chief Executive Officer A Hole-In-One John P. Moses Growth of a tournament “Show me my way in life,” Thomas prayed. In return, Thomas promised to build St. Jude ALSAC/St. Jude 8 Tumor Wars Senior Vice President of Attack via molecular-targeted therapy Communications and Thaddeus a shrine. That shrine became a world-class research institution that treats children Public Relations 10 Jerry Chipman Bird’s Eye View of Flu Sequencing the genomes Director of Public Relations regardless of race, color, creed or their ability to pay. This remarkable event also inspired the Judith W. Black 12 Song of the Soul ALSAC Vice President Patient and pianist John Alston name of this magazine, of Communications George Shadroui 16 Bridging Countries to Save Lives Outreach to Chile Publications Manager and Editor Elizabeth Jane Walker 17 A Moveable Feast . Promise Art Director Kathleen and Louis Rezzonico Jessica W. Anderson Photo Editor 18 Catering to Patients Jere Parobek Room service? No problem. Photographers 20 Seth Dixon On Target Ann-Margaret Hedges A home-away-from-home Contributing Writers Thad Caperton Ruth Ann Hensley Bonnie Kourvelas Victoria Tilney McDonough Tiffany Strange Carrie L. Strehlau Guest Author Scott Hamilton Highlights Editorial Advisory Board Lisa Baker 2 News and Achievements Leslie Davidson Pat Flynn, MD Mark Hendricks Perspective Christine Kirk Marc Kusinitz, PhD 24 Ava Middleton Scott Hamilton Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD The Gift of Giving Carrie L. Strehlau Penny Tramontozzi Sally Wiard John Zacher St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is an Equal Opportunity Employer. For inquiries about stories in this publication, call the Public Relations department at (901) 495-2125 or e-mail [email protected]. Visit our Web site at www.stjude.org. Articles and photos may be St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee reprinted with permission. ©2006. On the cover: St. Jude patient John Alston. Photo by Seth Dixon. Service Professional Conference in (CML), another blood cell cancer caused without causing severe diarrhea. A report Denver, Colorado, in May. by the Bcr-Abl mutation. on this study appears in the February 1, The findings suggest that IL-7 block 2006, issue of the Journal of Clinical the ability of imatinib to cause remis- Oncology. H i g h l i g h t s Genetic insights sion of ALL in patients with the Bcr-Abl The usefulness of irinotecan, a drug St. Jude investigators have discov- mutation and loss of both Arf genes. used to treat many pediatric solid tumors, ered the role of several key genes in the They point to a strategy for overcoming is limited by the side effect of diar- development of the retina, and in the pro- this resistance: developing novel drugs rhea. The drug is commonly given only SETH DIXON cess have taken a significant step toward that block the effect of IL-7 on cells. A intravenously, which requires visits to understanding how to prevent or cure the report on this work appears in the April the hospital. St. Jude clinicians sought to potentially deadly eye cancer retinoblas- 17, 2006, issue of Proceedings of the give it orally and co-administer it with toma. National Academy of Sciences. Charles an oral antibiotic to prevent and lessen Retinoblastoma that has spread out- J. Sherr, MD, PhD, a Howard Hughes the diarrhea. This also prevents the need side the eye is among the deadliest child- Medical Institute investigator and co-chair for repeated visits to the hospital for hood cancers, with an average survival of Genetics and Tumor Cell Biology, was each treatment. Wayne Furman, MD, rate of less than 10 percent. A key finding senior author of the paper. and Victor Santana, MD, from the Solid of the new study is that humans are more The Arf gene was discovered at St. Malignancies group were the paper’s lead susceptible to developing retinoblastoma Jude in 1995 in the laboratory of Sherr and senior authors, respectively. than mice, because mice can compensate and Martine Roussel, PhD, of Genetics for the loss of a gene critical to normal and Tumor Cell Biology. Roussel retinal development while humans cannot. and Richard Williams, MD, PhD, of The results of the study appear in the May Hematology-Oncology are co-authors of issue of the open-access journal BMC the current paper. Biology. “Our study gives us important new information on the normal development Brain map of the retina and suggests new studies that Scientists at St. Jude have given could lead to the design of more effective investigators around the world free drugs to treat retinoblastoma,” said the access to a powerful tool for studying paper’s senior author, Michael Dyer, PhD, brain development. The Internet-based of Developmental Neurobiology. tool, called the Brain Gene Expression Map (BGEM), is one of the largest gene expression maps of an organ ever devel- Ray Romano, (center), star of the hit television show Everybody Loves Raymond, and his co-star, Unlocking ALL mystery oped, according to the researchers. They Brad Garrett, visited St. Jude recently. They are pictured here with St. Jude patient Chris Rasco. St. Jude investigators have used say the map will likely help scientists dis- laboratory models to determine why some cover the genetic origins of brain cancers, forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia which could speed development of novel From nose to yes vaccine, which is injected, have not human flu viruses and H5N1—the bird (ALL) are extremely aggressive and resist drugs to treat them. Children with cancer who are espe- conclusively shown that it works effec- flu virus—suggests that it could protect a drug that is effective in treating a differ- The continual updating and comple- cially susceptible to influenza infection tively in children with weakened immune humans if an H5N1 virus mutates so that ent type of leukemia. tion of the BGEM Web site will be crucial because chemotherapy has weakened their systems, according to Jon McCullers, it can pass easily from person to per- The investigators found that the to scientists studying the development of immune systems might benefit from the MD, Infectious Diseases, senior author son, according to Richard Webby, PhD, combination of a mutation called Bcr-Abl the brain. In addition, many brain disor- ABCs of Cancer live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) of a report on this work that appeared Infectious Diseases. and the loss of both copies of the tumor ders, such as tumors and some psychiatric Leave it to kids and teens to say what’s on FluMist®, according to results of a labora- in the March 1 edition of the Journal of “Such cross-protection against bird suppressor gene Arf in bone marrow cells diseases, are also believed to be caused by their minds. The ABCs of Cancer, created by tory study by St. Jude researchers. Infectious Diseases. and human influenza is considered by triggers an aggressive form of ALL; and gene mutations that arise during develop- St. Jude patients and permanently displayed The team demonstrated that LAIV researchers to be the ‘Holy Grail’ of flu that this aggressive form of ALL appears ment of this complex organ. in a hospital hallway, offers 26 views of living with cancer and the lessons learned from protected laboratory models whose vaccines,” Webby said. “Even if the bird to be fueled by the presence of a protein A report on the development and that journey. The ABCs of Cancer posters immune systems were weakened by two Successful vaccine test flu virus mutates so it becomes adapted called IL-7, which triggers cell growth. availability of the BGEM appears in the were started informally by Child Life as an drugs commonly used to treat children St. Jude researchers say they have to humans, this kind of cross protection The researchers showed that inactivation March 28 issue of PLoS Biology. expressive art project. Kids could choose a with cancer. LAIV is a commercial vac- taken a significant step in the develop- will allow the immune system to track of both Arf genes facilitated the multi- letter, design it and write a poem or some cine composed of three live but weakened ment of a vaccine produced by Vical Inc. and attack such an emerging new variant plication of leukemic cells that did not thoughts about their chosen word. The posters types of flu virus. It is administered that could protect humans against a bird without missing a beat.” respond to the drug imatinib (Gleevec®). A lot to swallow offer a sad and lovely and hopeful and joyful nasally rather than injected. flu virus. Webby presented the findings of the Imatinib is already successfully used St. Jude investigators have found a glimpse into the amazing minds of the young The laboratory model finding was The researchers reported that the vaccine study at the U.S. Public Health to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia way to administer the potentially life-sav- heroes who come to St.