A Half-Century of Hope: Celebrating 50 Years of Progress

Fifty years ago, one pediatric oncologist and a small group of determined parents dared to imagine a different future for children with cancer. In 1975, when Dr. Abdel Ragab founded CURE Childhood Cancer in Atlanta, childhood cancer was nearly always fatal. Before that time, only 10% of children with leukemia survived. Today, thanks to relentless research and innovation, overall survival rates have climbed to 85%.

This remarkable transformation didn’t happen by chance. It was driven by breakthrough after breakthrough: from the discovery that leukemia wasn’t one disease but several distinct subtypes, to the development of combination chemotherapy, to the recent revolution in immunotherapy and precision medicine. Each advance built upon the last, each funded by supporters who believed that every child deserves the chance to grow up.

As we mark CURE’s 50th anniversary, we aren’t celebrating an organization. We are honoring a movement that has saved thousands of lives and continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible. The timeline that follows captures the pivotal moments in this journey, highlighting the innovations that have transformed childhood cancer from a near-certain death sentence into an increasingly survivable disease.

Yet our work is far from finished. Each year, more children are diagnosed, and too many still do not survive. The next 50 years must finish what we started, because every child deserves not just a chance, but a cure.

Dr. Abdel Ragab, CURE’s founder

Breakthroughs in Childhood Cancer Treatment (1975–2025)

CURE's First Steps

1975 – CURE Childhood Cancer is Founded

CURE is launched in Atlanta by Dr. Abdel Ragab to fund research, helping drive progress at a time when very few children survived cancer.

Late 1970s – Leukemia Subtypes Discovered

Dr. Harry Findley and colleagues helped establish that acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has distinct subtypes, paving the way for more precise treatment.

Building the First Wave of Success

1980s – Combination Chemotherapy Saves Lives

Using multiple chemotherapy drugs together in carefully timed regimens pushed survival for children with leukemia from under 10% in the 1960s to ~70% by the late 1980s/early 1990s.

1980s – Big Gains Against Solid Tumors

New drug-and-surgery approaches — sometimes with radiation — lifted survival for Wilms tumor and other solid tumors to over 85%.

Moving Toward Personalization

1990s – Risk-Based Therapy Becomes Standard

Children were grouped into low-, standard-, and high-risk categories, so treatment intensity could be matched to each child’s needs.

1990s – Genetics Start to Guide Therapy

Discoveries of chromosomal changes, like the Philadelphia chromosome in ALL, helped doctors predict prognosis and laid the groundwork for targeted drugs.

The Genetic Revolution

2001 – The Targeted Therapy Revolution Begins

In 2001, the FDA approved imatinib (Gleevec) to treat chronic myeloid leukemia with the Philadelphia chromosome, marking the FDA’s fastest review period of any cancer drug at just 10 weeks. This was the first drug designed to attack a cancer’s specific genetic flaw rather than broadly killing rapidly dividing cells, transforming outcomes for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemia.

2003 – Human Genome Project Completed

The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003. It provided the complete map of human genes and gave doctors the blueprint to understand cancer at a molecular level and match treatments to specific genetic profiles.

Precision Medicine Arrives

2010 – Tumor Sequencing Brings Precision Medicine

Starting around 2010, doctors began using genome-wide analyses to sequence children’s tumors and identify genetic mutations. This allowed them to classify cancers into new subtypes and match patients with targeted therapies, another piece of groundwork for precision medicine.

2017 – FDA Approves First CAR-T Therapy

In 2017, the FDA approved T-cell therapy. This groundbreaking immunotherapy reprograms patients’ own immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, offering hope when no other treatment options remain.

2017 – CURE Launches Precision Medicine Program

CURE provided significant funding to help establish one of the nation’s first pediatric precision medicine programs at the Aflac Cancer Center, giving children access to cutting-edge genetic sequencing and tumor analysis to guide their targeted treatment plans.

A Decade of Breakthroughs

2020s – Liquid Biopsies Enable Earlier Detection

Doctors are developing blood tests called liquid biopsies that can detect tiny amounts of tumor DNA circulating in the bloodstream, reducing the need for invasive biopsies and catching cancer relapse much earlier, when it’s more treatable.

2020s – Immunotherapy Expands

CAR-T cell therapy and other immune-based treatments that proved successful in blood cancers began testing in solid tumors like neuroblastoma and brain tumors, with the goal of bringing the same revolutionary results to these harder-to-treat cancers.

2020s – Gene Editing and Next-Generation Therapies

Scientists are exploring technologies like CRISPR gene editing to repair or disable cancer-causing genes at their source. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical researchers are developing safer, more precise targeted drugs that can effectively kill cancer while minimizing damage to healthy cells and reducing long-term side effects.

2020s – Focus on Survivorship and Quality of Life

Research priorities are shifting toward not just curing childhood cancer, but ensuring young survivors can grow up healthy. New treatment approaches aim to preserve fertility, protect heart and brain development, and minimize the long-term side effects that have affected earlier generations of survivors, so children can truly thrive after cancer.

Today, Kids Need You

The next 50 years depend on YOU

The next breakthrough, the one that could save a child, depends on what we do today.