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The
Brain Tumor Research Center
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Berkowitz
and Knott Fund for Brain Tumor Research
The
Brain Tumor Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital
is dedicated to the highly specialized care of patients
with brain tumors. The center offers a distinctive environment
where the study of brain tumors combines numerous specialties
to deliver sophisticated, compassionate care. Assembled
by Robert Ojemann, MD, the center's director, the core
group consists of a range of clinicians working under
the umbrella of the MGH Cancer Center, from the Departments
of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology.
The
group also works closely with the departments of Neuropathology
and Neuroradiology.The Brain Tumor Center is committed
to four goals:
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To
provide the highest-quality care to patients with
brain tumors; |
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To
develop and study new treatments for brain tumor
patients; |
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To
investigate the mechanisms involved in the formation
and growth of brain tumors |
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To
educate new brain tumor specialists. |
The Brain
Tumor Center works in partnership with the Molecular
Neuro-Oncology Laboratories to create a remarkably strong
resource for advances in the treatment of brain tumors.
Scientists at the center seek to understand the molecular
and genetic mechanisms that cause tumors to form and
grow within the brain. Physicians then use this information
to develop, assess and exploit new therapies for the
treatment of tumors. In a major project, clinicians
and scientists in the laboratories have focused their
energies on understanding the gene mutations involved
in the formation and progression of brain tumors. Mapping
the pathways of tumor formation is critically important
because it gives researchers an improved ability to
detect changes in genes or chromosomes and predict whether
a patient is likely to respond to treatment. The distinctive
nature of the Brain Tumor Center allows for the quickest
possible transfer of discoveries made in the laboratory
to treatments for patients.
Because
of the depth of expertise brought by the staff, the
Brain Tumor Center is able to fulfill its wide-ranging
mission to offer diagnosis and treatment, while conducting
basic and clinical research and sponsoring academic
training through a fellowship program, directed by Tracy
Batchelor, MD.
Basic
Research & Clinical research:
At the
Brain Tumor Center, scientists are conducting cutting-edge
research that has already yielded promising treatments.
A team of 30 researchers works side by side with physicians
to understand why tumors form and to find ways to turn
laboratory results into new treatments.
Under
the direction of E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, investigators
are successfully using gene therapy in the laboratory
to suppress tumors. New genes are placed in tumor cells,
thereby suppressing tumor growth. In another type of
therapy, genes are used either to kill tumor cells or
to make them more susceptible to chemotherapy. These
promising methods will soon be available as therapies
for brain tumor patients.
Another
approach, under the direction of David N. Louis, MD,
focuses on genetic abnormalities in brain tumors. Dr.
Louis and his team are studying abnormal genes in tumors
to understand why tumors form and to predict a patient's
responsiveness to treatment. Dr. Louis has made great
strides in clarifying the genetic pathways for different
types of tumors. These pathways could have far-reaching
implications for how these tumors are treated.
An
interdisciplinary multi-institutional joint-effort in
order to study highly malignant brain tumors as complex
dynamic self-organizing and adaptive biosystems. TCMP
uses methods from various disciplines such as tumor
biology, bioengineering, materials science, mathematical
biology, nonlinear physics as well as computational
and complex systems science. The goal of this innovative
research project is to improve the understanding of
tumorigenesis and to develop novel treatment strategies
against this yet devastating disease.
Patients
of the Brain Tumor Center have access to the most current
therapies, often before they are made available to the
general public. Massachusetts General Hospital is a
founding member of a national program, New Approaches
to Brain Tumor Therapy (NABTT), sponsored by the National
Cancer Institute and run by Johns Hopkins University.
As a participant, the MGH has access to newly developed
drugs that are not yet being marketed nationwide. In
addition, the MGH works with pharmaceutical companies
to make other new therapies available to patients. With
additional philanthropic support, the center could offer
these promising treatments to even more patients.
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Research
Laboratories:
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Laboratories
performing collaborative research projects, both Clinical
and Basic Research studies, at MGH:
For a
more complete listing see Laboratories.
Berkowitz
and Knott Fund for Brain Tumor Research
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THE
BERKOWITZ AND KNOTT FUND FOR
Brain Tumor Research
at Massachusetts General Hospital |
Berkowitz
and Knott Fund for Brain Tumor Research
|
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