Tumor Research at Children's Hospital Colorado
Principal Investigator
Nathan Donaldson, DO
Principle Investigator
Principle Investigator
Research Professional
Mia Lundin, BS
Research Professional
Research Professional
Tumor Research Program Focus
The Tumor program’s research focuses on the development, quality of life, and treatment outcomes for patients experiencing cancer of the musculoskeletal system. The goal is to improve functional ability and patient satisfaction as a result of innovative surgical interventions. Results from our studies will be used to inform doctors, clinical staff, and patients about potential new treatments that improve post-cancer standard of living.
Recent Publications
Central Nervous System Metastases in Pediatric Patients With Ewing Sarcoma.
This article evaluates and describes the course of 6 patients with Ewing’s sarcoma who developed metastatic lesions of the central nervous system. View full study
Single cell RNA-sequencing of Ewing sarcoma tumors demonstrates transcriptional heterogeneity and clonal evolution. Single-cell RNA sequencing is used to characterize the transcriptional landscape of primary Ewing’s sarcomas. It was found that these tumor samples have a heterogeneous transcriptional landscape. View full study
Identifying predictors for source culture positivity in children with acute musculoskeletal infections.
This study was looking to see if clinical markers could predict what patients will have a causative pathogen. No predictors were significantly associated with having a causative pathogen found, therefore it is difficult to predict which patients are the highest yield for operative diagnostic procedures. View full study
Active Studies
Total Joint Replacements are an extremely rare procedure for patients under the age of 30. At our institution, we are seeing an increasing amount of patients undergoing the procedure as a result of steroid use, trauma, and congenital causes and we aim to better understand the functional outcomes and quality of life for these patients before and after they undergo the procedure and educate other physicians and patients on the long term outcomes for this type of surgery in a younger population.
The tumor program has a long-standing prospective study collecting data on patients who have undergone surgical resection of Bone and Soft-Tissue Sarcomas to create a database of physical exam results alongside health-related quality-of-life data. Treatment options and resulting health-related quality of life are the main focus of research as more information on the quality of life and functional ability post-intervention will help patients make the best decision when deciding on a treatment option.
A surgical intervention in which the ankle becomes the knee to preserve function, the Tumor Program is studying the functional outcomes and other physical measures of patients' movement in conjunction with the Center for Gait Movement and Analysis and other organizations around Colorado. The Van Ness Rotationplasty exists as a treatment option for children with tumors in the area surrounding the knee and is becoming increasingly common.