A Breakthrough in the Fight Against Childhood Brain Cancer

by Dr. James Rutka

Senior Scientist & Neurosurgeon

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) 

Thank you for your continued support of Meagan Bebenek Foundation.

Because of you, we are able to pursue bold research aimed at the most devastating stages of childhood brain cancer. 

One such stage, leptomeningeal metastasis, occurs when tumour cells spread through the cerebrospinal fluid. Today, there are no effective treatments, and this diagnosis is always fatal. 



For families, this is the moment when hope feels like it is slipping away. 



But your support is helping us change that. 

Through this research, our team has assembled one of the most comprehensive collections of samples from children facing this stage of disease. What we discovered is both remarkable and promising: even though these cancers originate from different tumour types, once they spread, they rely on the same survival strategy. 

These tumour cells adapt to survive in an incredibly harsh environment, one with very little oxygen, nutrients, or support. They do this by depending on specific metabolic pathways, including a strong reliance on fats for energy and powerful antioxidant defenses to withstand stress. 

Our work is now focused on understanding and disrupting these survival pathways, with the goal of slowing tumour spread, extending survival, and creating treatment options where none currently exist. 

This is early, innovative science but it represents real hope. 

Thank you for making this possible and for helping us move closer to a future where no child faces this disease without options.