TARGET (Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments)

NCI describes TARGET as a programme that applied a comprehensive genomic approach to the molecular changes driving childhood cancers, to guide more effective, less toxic therapies. It began forming in 2007 with two pilot projects on high-risk subtypes of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and neuroblastoma, then expanded to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), osteosarcoma and selected kidney tumours, with many members of the Children's Oncology Group providing clinical expertise and tissue. NCI's table gives cases characterised: ALL 1,802 (including 115 acute leukaemias of ambiguous lineage), AML 2,145, neuroblastoma 1,132, Wilms tumour 652, osteosarcoma 383, rhabdoid tumour 69 and clear cell sarcoma of the kidney 13. A Pan-Cancer Model Systems arm produced leukaemia, kidney-tumour and neuroblastoma cell lines and xenografts, and whole-exome sequencing for 131 models of NCI's Pediatric Preclinical Testing Program.

NCI credits TARGET researchers with major advances in understanding ALL that led to new therapies using kinase inhibitors for some patients, including work on the Philadelphia chromosome-like (Ph-like) subtype. The data are at the Genomic Data Commons under dbGaP study phs000218.