With the donation of $10 million, Texas Children’s Cancer Center has announced the opening of the Fayez Sarofim Lymphoma Center. Located in Houston, Fayez Sarofim Lymphoma Center will be the world’s first and only center committed to the specific research, care and treatment of children with lymphoma.

Lymphoma, which is a tumor that can arise from any of the cellular elements of lymph nodes is the third most common cancer in children. Today, remedies to treat children with lymphoma include chemotherapy, and may be accompanied with occasional radiation treatment. Although over the years the outlook of children with lymphoma has improved, there are still challenges that exist. Concerns include the many patients who do not respond to the initial treatment, and if the patient does respond there may be relapses. Existing treatment may also have negative side-effects on a surviving lymphoma patient’s quality of life.

With the Fayez Sarofim Lymphoma Center, Texas Children Cancer Center will conduct laboratory research on the biology of lymphomas in hopes of developing new diagnostic approaches and to identify innovative, beneficial targets and new approaches to therapy.

“Our researchers have already developed effective cell-based therapies that have demonstrated extremely exciting clinical results and we are also evaluating new chemotherapeutic agents with significant clinical promise. The formation of this new research center will allow the physician scientists and researchers at Texas Children's Cancer Center to expand on this progress in exponential ways,” said Dr. Catherine Bollard, director of the Fayez Sarofim Lymphoma Center.

Throughout the years, Texas Children Cancer Center has gathered a group of clinical and laboratory researchers who specialize in lymphoma research. The center has a research infrastructure already in place, which integrates both laboratory and clinical research efforts. The research advances that originate from these laboratories will also be used for clinical studies.

“This extraordinary gift will help expand the number of innovative therapies that will be available to treat our young patients. Our ultimate goal is to fund a cure for all children with lymphoma,” said Dr. Kenneth McClain, clinical director of the new Fayez Sarofim Lymphoma Center.