NCI launches the Molecular Characterization Initiative for pediatric tumors

In support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot goal of fostering data sharing in cancer research, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has launched the Molecular Characterization Initiative (MCI) for pediatric tumors.1 This program offers free tumor molecular characterization to children, adolescents, and young adults with newly diagnosed central nervous system tumors who are being treated at Children’s Oncology Group hospitals. “MCI will provide a comprehensive molecular analysis of a patient’s tumor (and blood for cancer predisposition findings) in a clinical report returned soon after initial diagnosis,” says Douglas Hawkins, MD, a professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington in Seattle, and Group Chair of the research organization Children’s Oncology Group. “A few larger cancer programs have institutional or grant funding to cover the cost of molecular testing for newly diagnosed pediatric cancers. Currently, this level of molecular characterization is not available to most children with newly diagnosed cancer due to restriction on insurance coverage. MCI will provide comprehensive molecular analysis to children with selected cancers regardless of where they are treated and without the need for insurance coverage. We anticipate that MCI will lead to the refinement of clinical diagnoses and may help suggest alternative treatment options, including clinical trials. This is especially relevant for pediatric brain tumors, which increasingly are characterized by molecular alterations in addition to histologic features.”