Dear Friends of Pine Tree,
Since our founding of the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic in 1986, I feel incredibly grateful and proud of the ongoing support provided by the tournament in bringing the latest advancements in research and treatment options to children afflicted with cancer.
A parent should never have to worry about the lack of treatment options available to their child. When our daughter, Julieann, was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age, there were many unknowns and it was apparent that more was needed to answer the questions we had concerning pediatric cancer. We were so grateful for all the doctors, nurses and other care providers at Children’s Minnesota that we wanted to give back in a meaningful way.
Thanks to the Jacobson Family for believing in our fight to end pediatric cancer by contributing the seed money to start the event - which raised $15,000 in 1986 - and has since raised $7.5 million in supporting two main initiatives to improve outcomes for children with cancer - rare tumor research and activities to keep kids active and healthy during and after treatment.
The inception of the International PPB Registry in 1987 was a direct result of our vision and funding. The establishment of this global research program based here in Minnesota and now used in over 49 countries, directly resulted in the discovery of variants in the DICER1 gene as a cause of PPB - the most common lung cancer of children. Since this pivotal discovery in 2009, the mission and vision of Registry research has expanded and now includes study of ovarian, kidney, thyroid and brain tumors and has become a model for other registries to help identify best treatment outcomes. The spectrum of tumors under study has expanded even further within the past 3 years to include three other previously unrecognized tumors now known to be associated with DICER1.
These new discoveries have led to an expansion of the Registry name - now known as the International PPB/DICER1 Registry - and the founding of a parallel sister registry called the International Ovarian and Testicular Stromal Tumor Registry. The greater understanding of this spectrum of tumors has led to the creation and refinement of surveillance guidelines facilitating detection of these tumors in their earliest form. The lives of children and adults here in Minnesota and around the world have been saved by early detection made possible by these pivotal discoveries!
Unfortunately, not all tumors can be found early, so Children’s Minnesota is studying new methods of tumor monitoring and novel therapies. They have learned they can detect circulating DICER1 tumor DNA in the blood from children with tumors and are now working to understand how accurate such a test would be in guiding therapy for children with PPB. For novel therapies, they have identified multiple potential targets expressed on DICER1 cancer cells that are not expressed in normal tissues. New findings in 2021 include information on the role of p53 (the Guardian of the Genome) in DICER1 cancers and an assessment of markers for immunotherapy response in PPB tumors.
Children’s Minnesota is also developing an international prospective clinical trial to translate findings from the lab into clinical care. The goal is to translate new discoveries into less toxic and more effective therapies for childhood and adult cancers. Researchers at Children’s are honored to work directly with families and physicians around the world, ensuring the latest research results are placed directly into the hands of those who need it most.
More recently, new therapies for children who have been compromised by cancer treatments have brought greater opportunities for improved physical outcomes and have been duplicated in many other children’s hospitals. Children’s Minnesota has developed a nationally recognized model of rehabilitation for childhood cancer patients. This evidence-based model is being taught to cancer centers both nationally and internationally by recognized experts Lynn Tanner PT, PhD and Laura Gilchrist PT, PhD - both based in Minnesota.
Our support has also developed a measure of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy used in clinical trials both nationally and internationally to reduce the long-term consequences of cancer treatment.
But perhaps our greatest accomplishment occurred in 2020 when we established the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic Endowed Chair in Cancer and Blood Disorders Research at Children’s Minnesota and the appointment of Dr. Kris Ann Schultz as the inaugural holder of the position, marking only the third endowed chair position established in history at Children’s Minnesota. Truly remarkable!
I want to thank all of the players and the tennis community for sharing our dream through your enthusiasm surrounding the event and your donations to care for our children. It's not necessarily how much you raise in dollars, but how you spend those dollars. All of you have contributed to something very special and our family is proud to continue our support of this event and be a part of this truly unique and worthwhile mission. Without all of you, we wouldn't have much.
Sincerely yours,
Ron Peterson
Since our founding of the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic in 1986, I feel incredibly grateful and proud of the ongoing support provided by the tournament in bringing the latest advancements in research and treatment options to children afflicted with cancer.
A parent should never have to worry about the lack of treatment options available to their child. When our daughter, Julieann, was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age, there were many unknowns and it was apparent that more was needed to answer the questions we had concerning pediatric cancer. We were so grateful for all the doctors, nurses and other care providers at Children’s Minnesota that we wanted to give back in a meaningful way.
Thanks to the Jacobson Family for believing in our fight to end pediatric cancer by contributing the seed money to start the event - which raised $15,000 in 1986 - and has since raised $7.5 million in supporting two main initiatives to improve outcomes for children with cancer - rare tumor research and activities to keep kids active and healthy during and after treatment.
The inception of the International PPB Registry in 1987 was a direct result of our vision and funding. The establishment of this global research program based here in Minnesota and now used in over 49 countries, directly resulted in the discovery of variants in the DICER1 gene as a cause of PPB - the most common lung cancer of children. Since this pivotal discovery in 2009, the mission and vision of Registry research has expanded and now includes study of ovarian, kidney, thyroid and brain tumors and has become a model for other registries to help identify best treatment outcomes. The spectrum of tumors under study has expanded even further within the past 3 years to include three other previously unrecognized tumors now known to be associated with DICER1.
These new discoveries have led to an expansion of the Registry name - now known as the International PPB/DICER1 Registry - and the founding of a parallel sister registry called the International Ovarian and Testicular Stromal Tumor Registry. The greater understanding of this spectrum of tumors has led to the creation and refinement of surveillance guidelines facilitating detection of these tumors in their earliest form. The lives of children and adults here in Minnesota and around the world have been saved by early detection made possible by these pivotal discoveries!
Unfortunately, not all tumors can be found early, so Children’s Minnesota is studying new methods of tumor monitoring and novel therapies. They have learned they can detect circulating DICER1 tumor DNA in the blood from children with tumors and are now working to understand how accurate such a test would be in guiding therapy for children with PPB. For novel therapies, they have identified multiple potential targets expressed on DICER1 cancer cells that are not expressed in normal tissues. New findings in 2021 include information on the role of p53 (the Guardian of the Genome) in DICER1 cancers and an assessment of markers for immunotherapy response in PPB tumors.
Children’s Minnesota is also developing an international prospective clinical trial to translate findings from the lab into clinical care. The goal is to translate new discoveries into less toxic and more effective therapies for childhood and adult cancers. Researchers at Children’s are honored to work directly with families and physicians around the world, ensuring the latest research results are placed directly into the hands of those who need it most.
More recently, new therapies for children who have been compromised by cancer treatments have brought greater opportunities for improved physical outcomes and have been duplicated in many other children’s hospitals. Children’s Minnesota has developed a nationally recognized model of rehabilitation for childhood cancer patients. This evidence-based model is being taught to cancer centers both nationally and internationally by recognized experts Lynn Tanner PT, PhD and Laura Gilchrist PT, PhD - both based in Minnesota.
Our support has also developed a measure of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy used in clinical trials both nationally and internationally to reduce the long-term consequences of cancer treatment.
But perhaps our greatest accomplishment occurred in 2020 when we established the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic Endowed Chair in Cancer and Blood Disorders Research at Children’s Minnesota and the appointment of Dr. Kris Ann Schultz as the inaugural holder of the position, marking only the third endowed chair position established in history at Children’s Minnesota. Truly remarkable!
I want to thank all of the players and the tennis community for sharing our dream through your enthusiasm surrounding the event and your donations to care for our children. It's not necessarily how much you raise in dollars, but how you spend those dollars. All of you have contributed to something very special and our family is proud to continue our support of this event and be a part of this truly unique and worthwhile mission. Without all of you, we wouldn't have much.
Sincerely yours,
Ron Peterson