"Many childhood cancers are so rare that researchers simply don't have precise models to study them. Renewable patient-derived tumour models change that. They allow research teams around the world to test new therapies on a variety of childhood cancers, paving the way for more effective, targeted and less toxic treatments." - Associate Professor Jason Cain, Hudson Institute Living Biobank's Lead Investigator
How can you cure something you can't see or touch? It's a problem that has bedevilled medical researchers for centuries and, even in the modern day, it has been a particular problem for rare childhood cancers.
It's an area where Hudson Institute is a world leader - collecting, cataloguing, propagating and testing actual tissue from rare childhood cancers, enabling our researchers and others worldwide, to test new theories and treatments, often for the first time.
When it launched in 2023 the Children's Cancer Model Atlas, or CCMA, broke new ground as the world's largest collection of paediatric cancer cell lines.
It gave researchers the chance to test and analyse potential treatments using cutting-edge AI techniques, and its open-source architecture - thanks to collaborations with 34 cancer research institutes, universities and academic medical centres – gave every paediatric oncologist and childhood cancer researcher worldwide new opportunities.
But unlike some medical samples, the CCMA does not exist in a vacuum; we also have Hudson Institute's Living Biobank, using state-of-the-art technology to collect, process, store and distribute biological samples such as tumour tissue, blood and bone marrow, alongside clinical data.
Specialised childhood cancer models
It is a specialised repository that serves as vital research infrastructure, providing scientists with the high-quality materials needed to study disease, test new discoveries, guide treatments for current patients, and advance precision medicine.
Unlike traditional biobanks, which store non-renewable, fixed or frozen samples that offer only a single point-in-time analysis and can be quickly depleted, Hudson Institute's Living Biobank uses 'living' models which can be expanded indefinitely, enabling ongoing advanced studies and global sharing to drive novel discoveries and better outcomes for children with cancer.
Both facilities directly benefit children with limited treatment choices and poor prognoses, helping to accelerate the discovery of safer, more effective therapies that improve survival rates and enhance the quality and years of life for children diagnosed with cancer.
