Une machine révolutionnaire dans le traitement des cancers pédiatriques : l’Association Olivia soutient le projet du Professeur Padovani

À travers l’Association Olivia, nous avons choisi de soutenir le projet porté par le Professeur Laetitia Padovani, à l’hôpital de la Timone (AP-HM).

Ce projet représente aujourd’hui un immense espoir pour les enfants atteints de cancer, en apportant des avancées majeures dans la précision des traitements et la préservation de leur qualité de vie.

Présentation du projet

Chaque année, 2 500 enfants en France sont touchés par un cancer.
Malgré les progrès de la médecine, ces maladies restent encore trop souvent difficiles à traiter.

Aujourd’hui, grâce à une technologie innovante, une nouvelle approche de la radiothérapie est en train de voir le jour.

L’IRM linac est une véritable révolution technologique. Elle permet de visualiser la tumeur en temps réel pendant le traitement, avec une précision inégalée.

Cette innovation offre la possibilité de mieux cibler les zones à traiter, de limiter l’irradiation des tissus sains, et ainsi de préserver au maximum le devenir à long terme des enfants et des adolescents.

Elle permet également d’envisager le traitement de certaines tumeurs que les techniques actuelles de radiothérapie ne permettent pas de prendre en charge.

Cet équipement associe un accélérateur de particules et une IRM de haute précision afin de proposer des traitements plus personnalisés, plus courts, et d’ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives en oncologie pédiatrique.

Pourquoi nous soutenons ce projet

Soutenir ce projet, c’est contribuer concrètement à améliorer les traitements et la qualité de vie des enfants atteints de cancer.

C’est aussi accompagner les équipes médicales et les chercheurs qui, chaque jour, travaillent pour faire avancer la médecine.

Chaque geste compte 🤍

An innovative research project supported by the Olivia Association

At the Olivia Association, we are committed to supporting research projects that offer hope for children with serious cancers, especially when they are led by the doctors and researchers who accompanied Olivia throughout her illness.

The research project led by Dr Jasper van der Lugt is part of this approach. It explores an innovative therapeutic approach for the treatment of diffuse midline gliomas (DMG/DIPG), particularly aggressive brain tumors in children and young adults, for which current treatments still offer very limited benefits.

This project relies on the use of an oncolytic virus, specifically modified to target and destroy tumor cells while preserving as many healthy brain cells as possible. Simultaneously, this treatment aims to stimulate the immune system so that it recognizes and fights the tumor.

By supporting this project, the Olivia Association hopes to contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies, capable not only of slowing the progression of the disease, but also of improving the quality of life of the children and young patients concerned.

**Oncolytic virus treatment of diffuse midline gliomas

Text by Dr. Jasper van der Lugt

This study is testing a new experimental treatment for children and young adults with an aggressive type of brain tumor called diffuse midline glioma (including DIPG), a disease for which current treatments offer very limited benefit.

The treatment uses a specially modified virus, called Delta-24-RGD (also known as DNX-2401), that is designed to infect and kill tumor cells while leaving healthy brain cells largely unharmed, and at the same time activate the body’s immune system to recognize and attack the cancer.

Earlier studies in both adults and children have shown that a single injection of this virus can be given safely and, in some patients, may slow tumor growth and extend survival beyond what is usually seen with radiation therapy alone.

This study builds on that experience by testing whether giving the virus multiple times directly into the tumor can strengthen and prolong the immune response, potentially leading to better and longer-lasting tumor control.

The main goal is to confirm that repeated treatments are safe, while also looking for early signs that this approach may help patients live longer and maintain a better quality of life.

Throughout the study, doctors carefully monitor patients using brain imaging and biological samples to better understand how the virus affects the tumor and the immune system, helping guide the development of future, more effective treatments.

Facing Death: At the Olivia Association, we are committed to supporting research projects that place the human being at the center of care, particularly when they are led by the doctors and researchers who accompanied Olivia throughout her illness.

The Facing Death project, led by Dr Erna Michiels, is fully aligned with this commitment. It addresses, with sensitivity and humanity, a fundamental and delicate question in pediatric oncology: how to speak about an approaching death in a medical environment primarily oriented toward hope, treatment, and cure.

Because words have a profound impact on seriously ill children and their families, this research seeks to better understand how these conversations take shape, the dilemmas they involve, and how they can be conducted with honesty, respect, and compassion.

We are honored to support and share this research project, which contributes to care that is more honest, more humane, and better aligned with the needs of families—especially when time becomes precious.

"Facing Death" Study – Text by Dr. Erna Michiels

The Facing Death study focuses on one of the most vulnerable topics in pediatric oncology: how we communicate around an approaching death, in a care environment primarily oriented towards hope, treatment and healing.

Its aim is to gain insight into how these conversations take shape, the dilemmas involved, and what is needed to find words for a reality that is often hard to talk about.

This research is necessary because the way we communicate about this has a major impact on children and their parents—on trust, on felt safety, on shared decision-making, and on the ability to live the remaining time as well and as meaningfully as possible.

By making this often implicit and invisible process explicit, the project contributes to care that is more honest, more humane, and better aligned with what families need.

The benefits are directly felt by the patient: less uncertainty, less unnecessary suffering, and more room for connection, agency, and quality of life—especially when time is most precious.