Zev is currently in treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, one of the few hospitals in the world with an entire team devoted to treating children with Neuroblastoma. Dr. Nai-Kong Cheung, who heads the team, has developed a unique monoclonal antibody treatment known as 3F8. 3F8 targets specific sites on Neuroblastoma cells and has had success in preventing relapse in many Neuroblastoma kids.

However, since 3F8 has components derived from mice, a good portion of children reject the mouse component as a foreign body before it has a chance to kill the cancer. As a result, a new, more humanized version of 3F8 is currently being developed that will not be as easily rejected by these children. It was the parents of children with Neuroblastoma that have been -- and continue to be -- the driving force behind this project. Other new therapies requiring additional funding before they can be administered to children are:

1. 3E7 and R24 humanized antibodies
These are 2 additional monoclonal antibodies that bind to and lead to destruction of      neuroblastoma cancer cells. Zevs Fund is helping fund the development of these two drugs.

2. Morphoproteomic studies
Studies are in progress to determine which proteins are expressed by each individual child's Neuroblastoma cells. This information would then help determine which chemotherapies are most effective against these cells lines. This is what is commonly referred to as personalized medicine.

3. Metastasis Detection Study
A study is being initiated to test a method which will detect Neuroblastoma metastasis earlier than scans can. This involves analyzing endothelial growth factors in the blood (namely VEGFR1 and VEGFR2) that may be linked to spread of Neuroblastoma.

4. Dose escalation studies with 3F8
It has been shown in the lab that administering higher doses of monoclonal antibody may make it more effective at binding to the antigen on the cancer cells.