St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

The survival of children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) has not improved in the past 30 years despite use of irradiation and chemotherapy. Very little is known about the biology of DIPGs since tumor samples are rarely available for genetic studies. Surgical removal of large parts of DIPGs is not possible. Tumor biopsy is commonly not recommended when the tumor has a typical aspect by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

We believe that doctors may be able to devise better treatments for children with DIPG if we understand better the biology of this cancer. Therefore, we have been conducting a study (NBTP02) to collect tumor samples from patients with DIPG since June 2006. These tumor samples can be collected at diagnosis, when surgery is believed to be beneficial for the patients, or most commonly, at autopsy after the children have passed away. The autopsy is done by removing the brainstem tumor and a piece of the normal brain, and freezing these tissue samples for future research. All the autopsies performed as part of this study should be done preferentially in the hospital closest to the patients’ home. This protocol is sponsored by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and received partial support fromTyler’s Treehouse Foundation and the Cure Starts Now Foundation.

Our goal is to perform an extensive genetic analysis of tumor samples obtained from patients with DIPG.
If you need any additional information you can access the following site http://www.cancer.gov/search/ViewClinicalTrials.aspx?cdrid=504457&version=patient&protocolsearchid=3083672

or you can reach

Dr. Alberto Broniscer
Associate Member, Department of Oncology
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place Mail Stop 260
Memphis, TN 38105
Tel: (901) 595-4925
e-mail: alberto.broniscer@stjude.org

Last Update April 25, 2009