Solid Tumor Fellowship Program

The Solid Tumor clinical program at St. Jude treats patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed solid malignancies. In many cases, these patients cannot be optimally treated at other centers. The team has expertise in:

• Neuroblastoma
• Retinoblastoma
• Osteosarcoma
• Ewing sarcoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Melanoma
• Endocrine tumors
• Other rare cancers
• Developmental therapeutics

The clinic sees approximately 200 new solid tumor patients each year. The outpatient clinic has dedicated nurses and nurse practitioners. The inpatient unit is shared with neuro-oncology and is well staffed with hematology/oncology fellows, nurse practitioners and residents. Solid tumor fellows have the option to do a limited number of inpatient weeks and act as a “junior attending” if they wish to do so during their training.

The program emphasizes interdisciplinary care with multiple specialists, including radiation oncology, surgery, orthopedic oncology, interventional radiology, radiology, pathology and clinical genomics.

The Division of Solid Tumor aims to improve the survival and quality of life for children with solid tumors by integrating basic, translational and clinical research. Close collaborative interactions with other programs promote discoveries that can be translated to the clinic more effectively.

The program’s research has identified novel therapeutic combinations with immunotherapy and chemotherapy for neuroblastoma, PARP inhibitors for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma and antiangiogenic combination therapies for sarcomas.

St. Jude is not only dedicated to investigating, understanding and advancing the knowledge of various catastrophic childhood illnesses, but also is invested in improving clinical care for patients. The focus of these quality improvement initiatives has been to actively engage participants to partner with clinical practitioners, hospital administrators, patients and families to deliver equitable care to a diverse population, which will result in improved outcomes, such as improved remission, physical functioning, decreased hospitalization and serious adverse safety events. The quality improvement projects partner with multiple departments, and fellows are encouraged to join existing projects or propose their own. Motivated and interested fellows will have the opportunity to join the quality improvement teams and, with direction and mentorship, lead their own team. Fellows are encouraged to present results of these projects at national meetings and in peer-reviewed journals.