FIGHT KIDS CANCER

This is one of the achievements we are most proud of.

FIGHT KIDS CANCER is a joint initiative by KickCancer, Imagine for Margo (France), the Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner (Luxembourg), CRIS Cancer Foundation (Spain) and KiKA (the Netherlands) the aim of which is to accelerate the most innovative treatments thanks to European financing and collaboration of research on paediatric cancers. FIGHT KIDS CANCER entails the launch of recurring annual calls for projects. Since 2020 we have invested a total of 18,04 million euros, of which 3,5 million euros are funded by KickCancer.

In September 2023, we launched our fifth FIGHT KIDS CANCER call for projects. This time we decided to focus exclusively on innovative research for children and adolescents with brain tumours, because they are among the deadliest paediatric cancer types. FIGHT KIDS CANCER will be exclusively allocating the funds of the charity races in 2024 (KickCancer's 7th RUN TO KICK will take place on 29/09/2024) to accelerate research on brain tumours.

In Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Spain as well as in other European countries in the future, those projects are indeed financed thanks to the organisation of our charity family races. When more runners participate or their motivation to fundraise increases, the amount we can invest in research follows suit.

In 2023, the fourth call led to the selection of nine innovative research projects, by independent international experts, for a total amount of 4,29 million euros, of which KickCancer financed 1 million. The 9 projects are about the following diseases: All brain tumours (one clinical trial), Hodgkin Lymphoma (translational project), Medulloblastoma (translational project), Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma’s or DIPG: two translational projects: n°1 & n°2), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (translational project), High-risk glioma (translational project), All cancer types, improving radiotherapy side-effects (translational project) and Ewing Sarcoma (translational project).

The third call led to the selection of seven innovative research projects for a total amount of 5,75 million euros, of which KickCancer financed 1 million euros. After this first “closing”, another three projects from the reserve list were “rescued” and funded on a solo basis by Imagine for Margo (1 project) and KiKa (2 projects) for a total of 1,5 million euros. The 7 projects are about the following diseases: Neuroblastoma (one clinical trial and two translational projects: n°1 & n°2), Leukaemia and lymphoma (one clinical trial), Leukaemia: two translational projects (one for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and one for acute myeloid leukaemia), all tumours (one clinical trial).

In 2021, the second call led to the selection of five innovative projects for a total amount of 3,45 million euros, from which €725 000 were financed by KickCancer. These 5 projects are about the following diseases: B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Ewing's sarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma (2 projects: n°1 & n°2).

In 2020, the first call led to the selection of six innovative projects for a total amount of 3,08 million euros, from which €800 000 were financed by KickCancer. These 6 projects are about the following diseases: high-grade gliomas (2 projects: n°1 & n°2), acute myeloid leukaemia, rhabdoid tumours, osteosarcoma and neuroblastomas.