Target discovery
All future treatments for chordoma patients will depend on a deep understanding of the biology of our disease: what drives it and what its weaknesses are.
Our search for better treatments
Transformative new options are coming sooner than you think
Together, we’ve already changed much of what it means to face chordoma.
Yet the pressing need remains for better treatments. In the years ahead, our sights are set on treatments that can prevent recurrence, eliminate tumors rather than just slow their growth, and preserve patients’ quality of life. And thankfully, snowballing advances provide ever more tangible reasons to believe this is not only possible but probable.
Progress to date
When the Chordoma Foundation was founded in 2007, there was virtually no chordoma research being done and no infrastructure to enable it. Today, thanks to the extraordinary commitment of everyone affected by this disease, we've assembled a vibrant research community, created the scientific resources to make meaningful research happen, and seen therapies reach clinical trials. Our key achievements so far include:
Dozens of chordoma models developed
25+ disease targets revealed
250+ tumor samples collected
6,000 existing drugs screened
90+ drugs and combos tested preclinically
Helped 11 drugs reach clinical trials
Our next big leap
Chordoma Foundation Labs
In early 2022, we took the next step in accelerating new chordoma treatments by establishing our own laboratory. It's the first lab 100% dedicated to chordoma research, and our most powerful tool yet for progress.
Chordoma Foundation Labs is making it easier and more efficient to test new treatment ideas from anywhere in the world, and to significantly shorten the time from new biological insights to clinical trials.
Current strategies
For the first time, there's a credible path to far better treatments for chordoma patients — treatments that don’t just slow the disease down, but that have a real chance of enabling patients to get on with our lives. To achieve this ambitious goal at a pace that matches our shared sense of urgency, we're advancing a comprehensive research roadmap through multiple complementary initiatives that span every stage of treatment development.
Our investments to date, coupled with the new capabilities and speed afforded to us by Chordoma Foundation Labs, are leading to a rapid expansion of our clinical trials pipeline: This year and next, more well-justified therapeutic concepts will be ready to move from the lab into clinical trials than over the past five years combined.
Drug repurposing
Repurposing and repositioning existing drugs that may also work against chordoma allows us to bring new treatments to patients faster than developing new drugs from scratch.
Immunotherapy
Extraordinary advances are being made in the development of therapies that harness the immune system to fight cancer; our goal is to ensure that chordoma patients benefit from these powerful new approaches, too.
Brachyury drugs
A large body of research points to a protein called brachyury as the key driver of chordoma and its most critical vulnerability. We're bringing every plausible technology to bear to create brachyury-targeting drugs.
Ensuring children benefit from our advances
Pediatric chordoma
Pediatric chordoma may differ in important ways compared to the disease in adults, so we’re working to better understand its potentially unique biology and determine the best treatment approaches for children.
To that end, we’re collecting precious pediatric chordoma tumor samples, testing drugs against pediatric chordoma models, and looking for new vulnerabilities to target.
Publications
View a list of research publications that have resulted from the Chordoma Foundation's work, resources, and support.
With adequate investment, new treatments are around the corner.
Tremendous ongoing support from everyone in our community makes us more optimistic than ever that we'll witness a completely new chordoma treatment landscape in our lifetimes. Thank you for giving patients and families real reasons for hope.
Latest research updates
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Taking action
Skull base patients: MRI images needed to advance chordoma research
Participation in this study at Yale School of Medicine will take about 45 minutes of your time, and could eventually aid the FDA approval process for new chordoma therapies.
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Taking action
Courage, high spirits, and action: Remembering Bill Dorland
It’s with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Bill Dorland, who played a central role in our founding story and made innumerable contributions to our community since. He faced chordoma with unwavering courage, and will be greatly missed.
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