For parents, the diagnosis of cancer in their child is a devastating and unexpected event that impacts the whole family. When informed of the diagnosis, usually the first question a parent asks is “Will my child die from his/her cancer?” The second question usually asked is “What caused my child to get cancer?” Unfortunately, with the exception of a rare set of genetic syndromes, the physician cannot provide an accurate response to the etiology question because of the limited evidence base. We have assembled many of the large pediatric oncology practices from around the state of Texas and developed ACCESS-Texas to address the deficiencies in our knowledge about the causes of childhood and ad...

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For parents, the diagnosis of cancer in their child is a devastating and unexpected event that impacts the whole family. When informed of the diagnosis, usually the first question a parent asks is “Will my child die from his/her cancer?” The second question usually asked is “What caused my child to get cancer?” Unfortunately, with the exception of a rare set of genetic syndromes, the physician cannot provide an accurate response to the etiology question because of the limited evidence base. We have assembled many of the large pediatric oncology practices from around the state of Texas and developed ACCESS-Texas to address the deficiencies in our knowledge about the causes of childhood and adolescent cancers. ACCESS represents the only central facility to provide rich data and specimens for the discovery of novel biomarkers for cancer predisposition, early detection, and diagnosis for childhood and adolescent cancers. The resources gathered through ACCESS-Texas would place Texas researchers in a better position to develop and lead international collaborations to explore novel risk factors for childhood cancers. The ultimate goal is to provide families with answers when they ask why their child was afflicted. Unraveling the causes of these cancers could also lead to profound discoveries about the basic biology of these diseases. Once we more fully understand the causes of these diseases, we can then start to develop prevention strategies that may alleviate the anguish that the child and families endure. With the renewal of support for ACCESS, we will continue to grow the cohort of newly diagnosed children and adolescents, but we will also gather follow-up data and specimens to understand the factors associated with poor treatment outcomes, late-effects of therapy, and survival. These additional resources will further differentiate ACCESS from any other facility and position researchers in Texas to lead the field in the epidemiology of childhood and adolescent cancers.

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