Join NBTS’s campaign to raise awareness about the importance of biomarker testing and clinical trials for patients with brain tumors.
READ MOREInformed in 30 is a video series that breaks down complex scientific concepts at the forefront of brain tumor research and treatment. Leading researchers and doctors will answer your questions and keep you informed on cutting-edge advancements and how they will impact the brain tumor landscape.
Clinical trials are studies designed to test the most promising new treatments. People participate in a clinical trial for various reasons: to try a new treatment method, contribute to the development of future treatments, or help find a cure. This installment breaks down the concepts, key terms, and questions regarding clinical trials and brain tumors with the help of a leading expert in the field.
Precision medicine – sometimes referred to as individualized medicine, personalized medicine, or targeted therapy – refers to a treatment approach that seeks to match the right drugs to the right patients at the right time.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of removing as much of a brain tumor as possible during surgical resection. While many tumor types are difficult to fully remove without harming adjacent, healthy tissue, the tools, technology, and techniques that neurosurgeons now have at their disposal continue to improve – as does the training of these specialists.
Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children and adolescents under the age of 19 in the United States.
Critical findings in recent years, including many funded by the National Brain Tumor Society, have positioned the field of pediatric brain tumors to enter a new era in treatment and survival.
Computerized tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other forms of advanced imaging are critically important to diagnose and monitor patients with a brain tumor before, during, and after treatment.
Immunotherapy is a treatment strategy to coax the body’s own natural defenses – the activation of the immune system – to specifically recognize and destroy cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells alone.
There are a number of different methods being tested to harness the immune system to treat all types of cancers, including malignant brain tumors.
Biomarker testing refers to tests that identify genes, proteins, and other substances called biomarkers that can provide information about a patient’s tumor. Because of innovation and new technology, clinicians can learn a lot about a brain tumor from biomarker testing and, potentially, how to treat it and manage growth.
Quality of life care is an important component of treating patients with pediatric brain tumors and their families, yet it can be misunderstood. This installment breaks down the concepts, key terms, and questions regarding palliative care in pediatric brain tumors with the help of leading doctors in the field.
Every day the body automatically protects cells by repairing the damaged DNA through a process called DNA Damage Response (DDR). Research indicates that disrupted DDR networks are possibly an “Achilles’ heel” for tumors, leaving them vulnerable to a new group of treatments currently being developed. This installment breaks down the concepts, key terms, and questions regarding DDR and highlights NBTS’s research initiative, the DDR Consortium, with the help of leading experts in the field.
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