Cancer: Retinoblastoma
Alliance: Global Retinoblastoma Alliance for Children (Global REACH)
Headquarters: University of Chicago
Alliance Manager: Maya Maric, mmaric@bsd.uchicago.edu
The Global REtinoblastoma Alliance for CHildren (Global REACH) was formally established in 2022 as a collaboration of experts in the fields of pediatric oncology, ocular oncology, ophthalmology, pathology, surgery, radiation oncology, genetics and genomics, biostatistics and other specialties. Global REACH is composed of a growing list of world-renowned cooperative groups and institutions, including: Children’s Oncology Group (COG), European Retinoblastoma Group (EURbG), Grupo de America Latina de Oncologia Pediatrica (GALOP), International Retinoblastoma Consortium (IRbC), Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Dana Farber Cancer Institute / Boston Children’s Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids), MD Anderson, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Texas Children’s Hospital. Global REACH also looks forward to welcoming patient advocates to the Executive Committee and related activities.
Retinoblastoma is a rare disease in children, with 8,000 children newly affected each year worldwide (Fabian and Sagoo, 2018). Historically, there have been few cooperative groups collecting data for patients with retinoblastoma. The Global REACH data commons will include retrospective and prospective data derived globally from electronic health records, clinical trials, and registries. Global REACH will give unprecedented access to clinical and biological data to advance the care and improve outcomes of children with retinoblastoma.
To date, Global REACH has identified over 700 retinoblastoma patients to be included in the Pediatric Cancer Data Commons.