As the care of children with brain tumors evolves, there is recognition that despite advances in surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, there are clear needs to explore other options and to create mechanisms where new therapeutic approaches can be assessed carefully and expeditiously. Over the past 2 decades, multiple clinical trials consortia have been developed …
Dr. Roger J. Packer The Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation was pleased to be a Silver Sponsor for the comprehensive 17th International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology. Our Neurotransmitter Fall-Winter edition will cover other topics from the other conference. This summary covers a topic from Family Day and Educational Day, held June 11, 2016, related to molecular …
Over the last decade, there has been an explosion in the amount of data generated from the DNA and RNA sequencing studies. Essentially, these data inform us about the blueprints of the cancer cell – the instructions it uses to carry out its primary function of cellular proliferation. However, translating these findings into new therapies …
by Tobey MacDonald, M.D., Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA In 1971, Dr. Judah Folkman, then surgeon-in-chief of Children’s Hospital Boston, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that solid tumors are dependent on “angiogenesis”, the formation of new blood vessels, for survival and growth. He proposed that …
Sameer Keole, M.D. Medical Director, ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City When a child is diagnosed with cancer it is devastating for the entire family. The good news is that cure rates for childhood cancer are at nearly 80 percent thanks to ongoing research that has improved the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancers. …
Ori Shokek, M.D., Moody D. Wharam, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.R. Craniopharyngioma is a brain tumor that occurs in children. It is seen in the suprasellar region of the brain, a centrally located area adjacent to critical structures including the nerves that conduct visual signal from the eyes to the brain, the ventricular system which governs the …
Tobey J. MacDonald, M.D. For over 50 years, the field of cancer therapy has been dominated by the concept that the tumor must be the selected target of the chemotherapy delivered. Therefore, any drug with the ability to directly kill tumor cells in the laboratory was by definition a candidate for use as chemotherapy in …
Brendan Price, Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGG) have few treatment options and most children diagnosed only survive for 1-2 years. Identifying new treatments is therefore of the highest priority. Work in the lab is focused on understanding how these brain tumors arise, with the …
Hillary Bennett and Catherine M. Mannix, RN, BSN, OCN The diagnosis of a brain tumor is never welcome news for anyone. But this type of cancer is especially problematic in children, as their developing nervous systems are particularly sensitive to the effects of radiation, a major form of treatment for brain and other solid pediatric …
