The Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona opened its doors in June 2022
Invest for children is founding donor of the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center, one of the largests in Europe
The SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona is a new monographic centre for treating children and teens with cancer and their families. This facility concentrates, in a central unit, the care services aimed at patients with developmental cancer, alongside the areas dedicated to research. The aim is to provide more effective, efficient and appropriate care for a large volume of patients, more than 400 new patients a year, with the highly specialised team of the Oncology Department of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona.
https://www.sjdhospitalbarcelona.org/es/pediatric-cancer-center-barcelona
Objectives of the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona
To continue to increase the capacity to cure paediatric and adolescent cancer by offering comprehensive and personalised care.
To achieve new effective treatments for currently incurable cancers.
To reduce the after-effects for surviving children.
To be a service-oriented centre accessible to the world.
SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Specialities
The SJD Paediatric Cancer Center focuses its expertise on six clinical areas aimed at different types of patients, in order to guarantee the best medical care and always seeking the best possible experience. The SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona will offer multidisciplinary, highly specialised, highly complex and comprehensive care.
In the case of paediatric solid tumours, the SJD Paediatric Cancer Centre has a Molecular Oncology Laboratory specialised in the genetic characterisation of these tumours, which allows the patient to receive a more personalised and appropriate treatment based on the genetic alterations of their tumour.
Neuro-oncology
SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona treats tumours of the central nervous system such as medulloblastoma and other embryonal tumours, high-grade and low-grade gliomas and diffuse midline K27M mutated gliomas, ependymoma, craniopharyngioma, germ cell tumours and choroid plexus tumours.
Extracranial solid tumours
Experts in pathologies such as neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, osteosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Wilms’ tumour, nephroblastoma, vascular tumour (haemangioma, venous and arterial malformation), hepatoblastoma and germ cell tumour.
Tumours of the haematopoietic system
Leukaemias, lymphomas (non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s), histiocytosis and congenital bone marrow failure are the focus of SJD Cancer Centre Barcelona’s healthcare activity in this field.
Haematopoietic stem cell transplants
SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona has a haematopoietic progenitor transplant unit with all the technical and human resources to carry out the entire transplant process.
Predisposition to cancer
SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona specialises in syndromes with hereditary predisposition to cancer, such as neurocutaneous diseases (neurofibromatosis 1 and 2), tuberous sclerosis or syndromes such as Li-Fraumeni, among others.
Cancer survivor follow-up
Caring for cancer patients does not end with treatment. SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona offers the support and services needed to make the return to school, family and friends a positive experience.
Advanced therapies
SJD Cancer Center has a high capacity to develop advanced therapies in paediatric oncology, available in very few centres worldwide.
CART-19 IMMUNOTHERAPY
- Immunotherapy with humanised anti-GD2 antibody Naxitamab
- Oncolytic Viruses
- Theragnostics
Research and innovative methods
The aim of the Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona is to consolidate its position as a leading international developmental cancer centre.
The Developmental Cancer Research laboratory, integrated in the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona facilities, was inaugurated in 2003 and has accumulated nearly 20 years of experience in translational research, that which seeks answers to the needs of our patients. The aim is for advances in research to be translated into new treatments and applied to patient care.
More than 50 professionals, including researchers and technicians, work in this laboratory, which has a bank of paediatric tumours of great value for research and experimentation. The laboratory also applies molecular and genomic technology techniques that allow the analysis of tumour gene expression and open up new options in the fields of diagnosis and prognosis of patients.
With a research team that is fully integrated with the care team, our cutting-edge research, clinical trials and treatments enable our specialists to provide the safest and most effective care possible.
Training
Training in oncology is one of the strategic elements of the Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona. With the aim of optimising the scientific and human development of professionals who care for children and teens with cancer.
Seminars and courses: Continual education courses in oncology for doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
Undergraduate training: Integrated in the undergraduate training of medical and nursing students at the University of Barcelona.
Postgraduate training: The team provides oncology training for paediatric residents and paediatric nurses.
Paediatric oncology fellowship programme: The paediatric oncology and developmental cancer fellowship programme is consolidated and is the longest running in Spain. The programme lasts three years, during which the fellows are trained in the different clinical and research aspects of our subspecialty.
Online telematic initiatives: The development of online training has made it possible to transfer continuing education to platforms such as TELEO (Tele-education in Paediatric Oncology), which was created with the aim of supporting and strengthening local training programmes for specialists in Latin America, especially in middle- and low-income countries where access to this training was not possible until now.
