While the genetic mutations driving adult cancers can sometimes be targeted with drugs, most pediatric cancers lack good targets. That’s because their driving genetic alterations often create fusion proteins that aren’t easy for drugs to attack.

“This is one reason why it is notoriously hard to make targeted drugs against childhood cancers — their cancer-promoting proteins often lack good pockets for drugs to bind to,” says Kimberly Stegmaier, MD.

However, that’s beginning to change. …