Children's National

Without an explanation for severe and sometimes life-threatening symptoms, patients and their families are left in a state of unknown. Many individuals find themselves being passed from physician to physician, undergoing countless and often repetitive tests in the hopes of finding answers and insight about what the future may hold. This long and arduous journey to find a diagnosis does not end for many patients- the Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR) notes that 6% of individuals seeking their assistance have an undiagnosed disorder. In 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) was established with the goal of providing care and answers for these individuals with mysterious conditions who have long eluded diagnosis. The NIH UDP is a joint venture of the NIH ORDR, the National Human Genome Research Institute Intramural Research Program (NHGRI-IRP), and the NIH Clinical Research Center (CRC) (1-3). The goals of the NIH UDP are to: (1) provide answers for patients with undiagnosed diseases; (2) generate new knowledge about disease mechanisms; (3) assess the application of new approaches to phenotyping and the use of genomic technologies; and (4) identify potential therapeutic targets, if possible. To date, the UDP has evaluated 3300 medical records and admitted 750 individuals with rare and undiagnosed conditions to the NIH Clinical Center. The NIH UDP has identified more than 70 rare disease diagnoses and several new conditions. The success of the NIH UDP prompted the NIH Common Fund to support the establishment of a network of medical research centers, the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), for fiscal years 2013-2020. The clinical sites will perform extensive phenotyping, genetic analyses, and functional studies of potential disease-causing variants. The testing performed on patients involves medically indicated studies intended to help reach a diagnosis, as well as research investigations that include a skin biopsy, blood draws, and DNA analysis. In addition, the UDN will further the goals of the UDP by permitting the sharing of personally identifiable phenotypic and genotypic information within the network. By sharing participant information and encouraging collaboration, the UDN hopes to improve the understanding of rare conditions and advance the diagnostic process and care for individuals with undiagnosed diseases.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2015

open study

The main purpose of the master is to help the research sites and sponsor carry out several clinical trials more efficiently by providing a common research protocol. Individual clinical trials under this master protocol define drug/disease-specific research goals and activities to test them. New studies will be added as new drugs emerge against different cancers. Participation in the trial will depend on how long the benefit lasts.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2020

open study

This phase II trial determines if the combination of ONC201 with different drugs, panobinostat or paxalisib, is effective for treating participants with diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs). Despite years of research, little to no progress has been made to improve outcomes for participants with DMGs, and there are few treatment options. ONC201, panobinostat, and paxalisib are all enzyme inhibitors that may stop the growth of tumor cells by clocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. This phase II trial assesses different combinations of these drugs for the treatment of DMGs.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2021

open study

This study aims to use clinical and biological characteristics of acute leukemias to screen for patient eligibility for available pediatric leukemia sub-trials. Testing bone marrow and blood from patients with leukemia that has come back after treatment or is difficult to treat may provide information about the patient's leukemia that is important when deciding how to best treat it, and may help doctors find better ways to diagnose and treat leukemia in children, adolescents, and young adults.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2022

open study

This phase III trial compares standard chemotherapy to therapy with liposome-encapsulated daunorubicin-cytarabine (CPX-351) and/or gilteritinib for patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia with or without FLT3 mutations. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as daunorubicin, cytarabine, and gemtuzumab ozogamicin, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. CPX-351 is made up of daunorubicin and cytarabine and is made in a way that makes the drugs stay in the bone marrow longer and could be less likely to cause heart problems than traditional anthracycline drugs, a common class of chemotherapy drug. Some acute myeloid leukemia patients have an abnormality in the structure of a gene called FLT3. Genes are pieces of DNA (molecules that carry instructions for development, functioning, growth and reproduction) inside each cell that tell the cell what to do and when to grow and divide. FLT3 plays an important role in the normal making of blood cells. This gene can have permanent changes that cause it to function abnormally by making cancer cells grow. Gilteritinib may block the abnormal function of the FLT3 gene that makes cancer cells grow. The overall goals of this study are, 1) to compare the effects, good and/or bad, of CPX-351 with daunorubicin and cytarabine on people with newly diagnosed AML to find out which is better, 2) to study the effects, good and/or bad, of adding gilteritinib to AML therapy for patients with high amounts of FLT3/ITD or other FLT3 mutations and 3) to study changes in heart function during and after treatment for AML. Giving CPX-351 and/or gilteritinib with standard chemotherapy may work better in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia compared to standard chemotherapy alone.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2020

open study

This phase III trial studies whether inotuzumab ozogamicin added to post-induction chemotherapy for patients with High-Risk B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) improves outcomes. This trial also studies the outcomes of patients with mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL), and B-lymphoblastic lymphoma (B-LLy) when treated with ALL therapy without inotuzumab ozogamicin. Inotuzumab ozogamicin is a monoclonal antibody, called inotuzumab, linked to a type of chemotherapy called calicheamicin. Inotuzumab attaches to cancer cells in a targeted way and delivers calicheamicin to kill them. Other drugs used in the chemotherapy regimen, such as cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, dexamethasone, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, methotrexate, leucovorin, mercaptopurine, prednisone, thioguanine, vincristine, and pegaspargase or calaspargase pegol work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. This trial will also study the outcomes of patients with mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) and disseminated B lymphoblastic lymphoma (B-LLy) when treated with high-risk ALL chemotherapy. The overall goal of this study is to understand if adding inotuzumab ozogamicin to standard of care chemotherapy maintains or improves outcomes in High Risk B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (HR B-ALL). The first part of the study includes the first two phases of therapy: Induction and Consolidation. This part will collect information on the leukemia, as well as the effects of the initial treatment, to classify patients into post-consolidation treatment groups. On the second part of this study, patients with HR B-ALL will receive the remainder of the chemotherapy cycles (interim maintenance I, delayed intensification, interim maintenance II, maintenance), with some patients randomized to receive inotuzumab. The patients that receive inotuzumab will not receive part of delayed intensification. Other aims of this study include investigating whether treating both males and females with the same duration of chemotherapy maintains outcomes for males who have previously been treated for an additional year compared to girls, as well as to evaluate the best ways to help patients adhere to oral chemotherapy regimens. Finally, this study will be the first to track the outcomes of subjects with disseminated B-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-LLy) or Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia (MPAL) when treated with B-ALL chemotherapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2019

open study

This phase II trial studies how well inotuzumab ozogamicin works in treating younger patients with B-lymphoblastic lymphoma or CD22 positive B acute lymphoblastic leukemia that has come back (relapsed) or does not respond to treatment (refractory). Inotuzumab ozogamicin is a monoclonal antibody, called inotuzumab, linked to a toxic agent called ozogamicin. Inotuzumab attaches to CD22 positive cancer cells in a targeted way and delivers ozogamicin to kill them.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2017

open study

The Study is designed to collect information about adverse events that occur in children undergoing anesthesia in participating hospitals. Demographic information will be collected on all anesthetics. An analysis of each adverse event will be performed and entered into the database. From this information we will devise strategies to prevent these adverse events.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Feb 2008

open study

The WeDecide study is a large observational study comparing the long-term effects of matched related donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (MRD HCT) and non-transplant disease-modifying therapies (NT-DMT) for pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). The study aims to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL), cognitive function, risks, and benefits of both treatments, including survival rates, chronic complications, and organ damage prevention. With 160 children in the MRD HCT group and 320 in the NT-DMT group, aged 3-20.9 years, the study will follow participants for three years, examining factors like disease severity, treatment history, and social determinants of health. By providing a comprehensive comparison, the study seeks to inform clinical decisions and improve understanding of SCD treatment outcomes, ultimately supporting families and healthcare providers in choosing the best treatment options.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jun 2024

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if intravenous citrulline works to treat acute pain in hospitalized patients with sickle cell disease. It will also learn about the safety of intravenous citrulline. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Does intravenous citrulline decrease the duration of sickle cell pain during hospitalization - What medical problems do participants have when taking intravenous citrulline? Researchers will compare intravenous citrulline to a placebo (a look-alike substance that contains no drug) to see if intravenous citrulline works to treat acute pain. Participants will: - Receive baseline tests and intravenous citrulline for 16 hours during the hospital stay - After hospital discharge, visit the clinic in about 30 days for checkup and tests

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

This is a multicenter, prospective, observational Phase 4 study in the United States. The study is designed to collect both medical history and prospective data on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) treatment outcomes in participants receiving delandistrogene moxeparvovec as part of clinical care, compared to participants with DMD receiving or prescribed to start chronic glucocorticoid treatment at baseline in routine clinical practice.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Feb 2024

open study

This phase II trial tests effects of nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy drugs prior to radiation therapy patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs, such as gemcitabine and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays, particles, or radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Researchers want to find out what effects, good and/or bad, adding nivolumab to chemotherapy has on patients with newly diagnosed NPC. In addition, they want to find out if children with NPC may be treated with less radiation therapy and whether this decreases the side effects of therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2024

open study

The current study will use a new treatment approach based on the molecular characteristics of each participant's tumor. The study will test the feasibility in the pilot phase of performing real-time drug screening on tissue taken during surgery in patients with relapsed medulloblastoma or ependymoma and of having a specialized tumor board assign a treatment plan based on the results of this screening and genomic sequencing. The aim of this trial is to allow every child and young adult with relapsed medulloblastoma and ependymoma to receive the most effective and least toxic therapies currently available and will pave the way for improved understanding and treatment of these tumors in the future. Moreover, if successful, it could serve as a paradigm for personalized medicine programs for other types of cancer.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2022

open study

The goal of this prospective, non-randomized, single-arm, feasibility study is to develop data to evaluate the safety and feasibility of ExAblate 4000 treatment of benign intracranial tumors which require clinical intervention in pediatric and young adult subjects. Indication of Use: Ablation of benign intracranial tumors in children and young adults which are ExAblate accessible.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2017

open study

MEKTOVI (binimetinib) is an oral, highly selective reversible inhibitor of mitogen-activated extracellular signal regulated kinase 1 (MEK1) and MEK2. The biological activity of binimetinib that has been evaluated bith in vitro and in vivo in a wide variety of tumor types In this Phase II, the drug will be used to treat pediatric patients diagnosed with recurrent Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma including patients who have undergone surgery and/or radiation therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2023

open study

Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), one of the most common inborn errors of organic acid metabolism, is heterogeneous in etiology and clinical manifestations. Affected patients with cblA, cblB and mut classes of MMA are medically fragile and can suffer from complications such as metabolic stroke or infarction of the basal ganglia, pancreatitis, end stage renal failure, growth impairment, osteoporosis, and developmental delay. The frequency of these complications and their precipitants remain undefined. Furthermore, current treatment protocol outcomes have continued to demonstrate substantial morbidity and mortality in the patient population. Increasingly, solid organ transplantation (liver, and/or kidney) has been used to treat patients. Disordered transport and intracellular metabolism of vitamin B12 produces a distinct group of disorders that feature methylmalonic acidemia as well as (hyper)homocysteinemia. These conditions are named after the corresponding cellular complementation class - (cblC, cblD, cblF, cblJ and cblX) - and are also heterogenous, clinically and biochemically. The genetic disorders underlying cblE and cblG feature an isolated impairment of the activity of methionine synthase, a critical enzyme involved in the conversion of homocysteine to methionine and these disorders feature (hyper) homocysteinemia. Lastly, a group of patients can have increased methylmalonic acid and/or homocysteine in the blood or urine caused by variant(s) in recently identified (ACSF3) and unknown genes. In this protocol, we will clinically evaluate patients with methylmalonic acidemia and cobalamin metabolic defects. Routine inpatient admissions will last up to 4-5 days and involve urine collection, blood drawing, ophthalmological examination, radiological procedures, MRI/MRS, skin biopsies in some, and developmental testing. In a subset of patients who have or will receive renal, hepato- or hepato-renal transplants or have an unusual variant or clinical course and have MMA, a lumbar puncture to examine CSF metabolites will be performed. In this small group of patients, CSF metabolite monitoring may be used to adjust therapy. The study objectives will be to further delineate the spectrum of phenotypes and characterize the natural history of these enzymopathies, query for genotype/enzymatic/phenotype correlations, search for new genetic causes of methylmalonic acidemia and/or homocysteinemia, identify new disease biomarkers and define clinical outcome parameters for future clinical trials. The population will consist of participants previously evaluated at NIH, physician referrals, and families directed to the study from clinicaltrials.gov as well as the Organic Acidemia Association, Homocystinuria Network America and other national and international support groups. Most participants will be evaluated only at the NIH Clinical Center. However, if the NIH team decides that a patient under the age of 2 years is a candidate subject for this research protocol, that patient may enroll at the Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) site, pending approval by Dr Chapman, the Principal Investigator of the CNMC location Individuals may also enroll in the tissue collection only part of the study at the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh or share medical history and clinical data via telemedicine visits remotely. Outcome measures will largely be descriptive and encompass correlations between clinical, biochemical and molecular parameters.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jun 2004

open study

The goal of this study is to determine the efficacy of the study drugs ribociclib and everolimus to treat pediatric and young adult patients newly diagnosed with a high-grade glioma (HGG), including DIPG, that have genetic changes in pathways (cell cycle, PI3K/mTOR) that these drugs target. The main question the study aims to answer is whether the combination of ribociclib and everolimus can prolong the life of patients diagnosed with HGG, including DIPG.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2024

open study

The overarching hypothesis of the ARRC trial is that administration of Azithromycin (AZM) during acute, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)-induced respiratory failure will be beneficial, mediated through the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 pathway.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2022

open study

This phase II trial studies the best approach to combine chemotherapy and radiation therapy (RT) based on the patient's response to induction chemotherapy in patients with non-germinomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCT) that have not spread to other parts of the brain or body (localized). This study has 2 goals: 1) optimizing radiation for patients who respond well to induction chemotherapy to diminish spinal cord relapses, 2) utilizing higher dose chemotherapy followed by conventional RT in patients who did not respond to induction chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin, etoposide, ifosfamide, and thiotepa, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays or high-energy protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Studies have shown that patients with newly-diagnosed localized NGGCT, whose disease responds well to chemotherapy before receiving radiation therapy, are more likely to be free of the disease for a longer time than are patients for whom the chemotherapy does not efficiently eliminate or reduce the size of the tumor. The purpose of this study is to see how well the tumors respond to induction chemotherapy to decide what treatment to give next. Some patients will be given RT to the spine and a portion of the brain. Others will be given high dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant before RT to the whole brain and spine. Giving treatment based on the response to induction chemotherapy may lower the side effects of radiation in some patients and adjust the therapy to a more efficient one for other patients with localized NGGCT.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2021

open study

This is a pilot study that will evaluate disease status in children that have been newly diagnosed high-grade glioma with TRK fusion. The evaluation will occur after 2 cycles of the medication (Larotrectinib) have been given. The study will also evaluate the safety of larotrectinib when given with chemotherapy in your children; as well as the safety larotrectinib when given post-focal radiation therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2021

open study

Caregiver-child dyads will be recruited during child's hospital admission for asthma exacerbation. Recruitment sites will be mainly Children's National Hospital Sheikh Zayed campus, as well as regional partners: Holy Cross Hospital, and Mary Washington Hospital. After enrollment, baseline data will be collected from caregiver. Caregiver-child dyads will be randomized (1:1 ratio) into the control arm or intervention arm. Control arm will receive the standard of care after hospital discharge. Intervention arm will receive the SOC plus an asthma navigator support after hospital discharge. Caregivers in both arms will complete data collection surveys (either in-person or via telehealth) at 3-,6-, 9-, and 12- month post enrollment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2024

open study

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) exhibit significantly reduced cognitive functioning (often difficulties with attention) compared to peers and siblings without SCD. EndeavorRx (Akili Interactive Labs: Boston, MA) is an FDA-approved home-based, electronic attentional-control training program designed to treat attention problems in youth. Users access EndeavorRx on a tablet device for 25-30 minutes each day, 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. The program involves training in a game-like environment that repeatedly challenges attentional-control abilities and adapts to user performance, becoming more difficult over time as performance improves. This pilot study is examining the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of EndeavorRx in a sample of 20 children with SCD ages 8-16 who are being treated with chronic blood transfusion therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2022

open study

This is a multi center, Phase I, Phase II and surgical study of the CX-4945 drug (silmitasertib sodium) for patients with recurrent SHH (Sonic Hedgehog) medulloblastoma

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2019

open study

Pediatric cancer survivors are at an increased risk of excessive weight gain and reduced exercise behaviors with the potential for this risk to worsen over time. With over 80% of pediatric cancer patients living to adulthood, many pediatric cancer survivors experience long-term health consequences such as heart disease - the leading cause of death in this population. The purpose of this clinical research study is to teach parents/caregivers skills that will help prevent and reduce the problems of obesity in childhood cancer survivors. In this study, parents have the opportunity to participate in one of two web-based groups in which parents in either group will learn valuable information to improve the health of their child and of themselves.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2020

open study

The Myelin Disorders Biorepository Project (MDBP) seeks to collect and analyze clinical data and biological samples from leukodystrophy patients worldwide to support ongoing and future research projects. The MDBP is one of the world's largest leukodystrophy biorepositories, having enrolled nearly 2,000 affected individuals since it was launched over a decade ago. Researchers working in the biorepository hope to use these materials to uncover new genetic etiologies for various leukodystrophies, develop biomarkers for use in future clinical trials, and better understand the natural history of these disorders. The knowledge gained from these efforts may help improve the diagnostic tools and treatment options available to patients in the future.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Dec 2016

open study