CBTTC Update 11/2012
We are delighted to share this letter from Dr Peter Phillips detailing the progress made by the CBTTC this year with money raised by the Brain Tumors France.
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAL CENTER
THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA
|
PETER C. Phillips, M.D. |
Abramson Research Center |
November 27, 2012
RE: Brain Tumors France
Dear Caroline, Tim and the Foundation Board:
During the past year we have used the funding support from the Brain Tumors France entirely for the Childhood Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium effort at CHOP. To that objective we have now entered more than three hundred brain tumor samples together with comprehensive clinical data relating to the surgical treatment, radiation or chemotherapy treatment, and response for these children. As we discussed previously, we have developed a sophisticated series of procedures to separate all clinical identifiers for the tissue samples and the clinical information. Accordingly, we are able to maintain a high level of confidentiality while preserving an extensive body of clinical data that can be used to address complex therapeutic questions.
Currently, we have more than 90 low-grade astrocytomas, more than 50 medulloblastomas, and more than 75 malignant gliomas in addition to more than 20 other types of tumors that are stored in our repository. As you may remember, we have no restrictions on tissue types, so we also collect some of the most uncommon tumors with the plan of assessing their genomic characteristics in the future.
Our efforts are centered at CHOP, because we have the most comprehensive infrastructure for tumor storage, neuropathological assessment, and automated gene-chip analysis. In addition, we have established a partnership with the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), one of the world leaders in rapid gene sequencing and analysis. This will reduce the cost of tissue genetic analysis and greatly facilitate the speed at which we can undertake new research projects. The CBTTC will have full access to these resources and it will facilitate our selected efforts at complete gene sequencing of certain tumor types.
Our collaborators in the CBTTC include the University of Pittsburgh, Chicago Memorial Hospital, and University of Washington in Seattle. We will be meeting in January 2013 to establish data analysis schedules and priorities, to review the current data, and to explore opportunities to expand the CBTTC to other participants. As a group, we have initiated a research project on childhood astrocytomas, partially funded by the CBTTC including the Court Foundation, partially funded by the Low Grade Astrocytoma Foundation and are in the process of gene sequencing for that study. We anticipate early results this winter.
As always, we are deeply appreciative of the Brain Tumors France’s support for this uniquely important collaboration between major institutions and we anticipate that our efforts will continue to stimulate new therapeutic strategies and identify new therapeutic targets based on the gene structure and mutation patterns of these tumors.
Best regards,
Sincerely,
Peter C. Phillips, M.D.
Chief, Division of Neuro-Oncology