With the goal of helping children and young adults with a rare form of leukemia, Euroleague Basketball referees in all Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games this week will wear Golden Laces, the color of pediatric cancer, to focus attention on efforts being made throughout the continent to improve treatment and outcomes for young victims of the disease.
Lucas, the son of one of those Euroleague Basketball referees, Carlos Peruga, is among the 350 children a year in Spain who are diagnosed with acute myeloid or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a type of blood cancer that attacks the immune system. Without personalized and intense immunology treatments, the disease makes victims extremely vulnerable to life-threatening infections and serious bleeding.
The Golden Laces are a symbol of the efforts of the Spanish foundation Unoentrecienmil (1 in 100,000), which has brought the European-wide ALLtogether treatment program to Spain. ALLTogether establishes an advanced treatment protocol that aims to improve survival and quality of life for children and young adults with ALL.
Study groups in a total of 14 countries in Europe seek to improve on the current survival rates of 90% in children and 75% in young adults by combating under-treatment, but also refining protocols to prevent over-treatment, which brings similar risks for survival, secondary cancers and long-term side effects.
Euroleague Basketball urges its fans to join in the efforts to cure leukemia in children and young adults by donating at togetheragainstleukemia.org.
About Unoentrecienmil
Unoentrecienmil Foundation is dedicated to promoting research projects to achieve a full cure for childhood leukemia, the most common cancer in children. In Spain, one case is diagnosed every day, which causes turmoil to families since 20% of these children do not manage to overcome it. Unoentrecienmil is the only Spanish foundation focused exclusively on childhood leukemia.
Research grants
Since 2012, Unoentrecienmil has promoted 15 research projects related to the full cure of childhood leukemia: prevention, protocols, toxicity, relapses and immunotherapies, among others. The recipients include the best Spanish researchers specialized in this field, belonging to the university hospitals of La Paz, Niño Jesús, San Joan de Déu, the Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona, and scientific institutions such as the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center and the universities of Salamanca and Complutense. A total of 3.5 million euros have been invested.
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