Previous Lëtz Go Gold solidarity race;
Credit: Doris Lodea
Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner, a Luxembourgish charity for children with cancer, in association with KickCancer in Belgium and Imagine for Margo in France, recently launched a European call for projects, entitled "Fight Kids Cancer".
With the common objective of boosting research on childhood cancer in Europe to accelerate the development of more effective treatments, the three organisations joined forces to launch this annual call for projects aimed at European researchers working on paediatric cancers. This initiative took the form of a platform on which researchers were able to register a research project. For its first edition, Fight Kids Cancer proposed two lines of research: early phase clinical trials and translational research.
Following this call for projects, 23 research projects were submitted by different teams of European researchers and then carefully evaluated by a selection of international evaluators according to precise criteria of quality, impact and innovation. With the help of the Fight Kids Cancer scientific committee, the three initiators of the call for projects validated the ranking and made the final selection of projects.
The six chosen projects come from French, Belgian, Austrian and Spanish research centres and relate to brain tumours, acute myeloblastic leukaemia, osteosarcomas, neuroblastomas and rhabdoid sarcomas. These are particularly aggressive paediatric cancers which often have a high relapse rate.
Luxembourg's financial contribution, through Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner, was made thanks to the solidarity race "Lëtz Go Gold" which has already raised more than €555,000, with the participation of 1,355 runners and walkers, over the past two years.
Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner has adapted the 3rd edition of this race, which will take place on Saturday 26 September 2020, to the current health crisis. The foundation's director Anne Goeres explained: “The 2020 race is of course maintained, because sick children need our support! The race will be different, but extraordinary: we have implemented a principle of connected racing that will allow everyone to participate, wherever they are, but in solidarity. A live stream will make it possible to meet for a frenzied warm-up before giving the start of the race and to encourage the participants who, once again, will have given their all to fund research on paediatric cancers, discover new treatments and improve existing ones".
In the context of the pandemic, Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner has stressed the importance of fundraising and invited any person or company to join the Lëtz Go Gold solidarity race, the proceeds of which will be donated entirely to selected researchers.
Registrations are open on www.letzgogold.lu.
