Introduction:
Dr. David Zagzag is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Neurosurgery, the Director of Microvascular and Molecular Neuro-Oncology Laboratory, and the Director of the Human Brain Tumor Bank at NYU Medical Center. His research and clinical interests include the pathology of nervous system, mechanisms of cerebral vasculogenesis and angiogenesis.
Questions & Answers:
What is a Brain Bank?
A brain tumor bank serves as a repository for tissues. These tissues are preserved in our bank by freezing or by fixation in different fixatives. Freezing and fixation help to assure that the tissues are safeguarded until needed for investigations.
Approximately how many brain tumor specimens do you have?
We currently have approximately 500 brain tumor specimens in our tumor bank.
How do you get these specimens- from surgery or from autopsy?
The specimens in the tumor bank are acquired from both surgery and autopsy.
Do you have any pediatric DIPG specimens?
We have specimens from approximately 250 pediatric brain tumor patients in our tumor bank. This includes approximately 15 pediatric patients diagnosed with DIPG.
What do you hope to do with these specimens?
We use these specimens to perform investigations into the pathogenesis of brain tumors. Our goal is to use the collected information to develop diagnostic and prognostic methods that can be translated into the clinic for therapeutic use in patients.
Is using the bank only open to those associated with NYU?
No, use of the brain tumor bank is not limited to those associated with NYU, investigators from any institution are welcome to request specimens from our bank.
Do you know of other brain banks for pediatric brain tumors?
Yes, though limited in number, other pediatric brain tumor banks have been established in universities, hospitals, and other medical institutions around the nation.
This endeavor is a team effort with Pediatric Neurosurgeons Drs. Jeffrey Wisoff, Howard Weiner and David Harter, and Pediatric Neurooncologists Drs. Jeffrey Allen, Sharon Gardner and Matthias Karajannis.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
DIPG Digest
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July 18, 2009
Please submit information you feel will be helpful to DIPG families to JustOneMoreDay@cfl.rr.com subject: DIPG Digest
Copyright 2008 - 2009 Just One More Day for Love, Hope & a Cure, Inc. Allrights reserved. The materials and links provided on this site have beenprepared for information purposes only and should not be construed as advice oropinions on any specific facts or circumstances. Medical research concerningdisease and treatments is an ongoing process. Readers should not act upon thisinformation, but should obtain advice from physicians, medical institutions orother professionals, as appropriate.
Just One More Day for Love, Hope & a Cure
http://www.justonemoreday.org/
July 18, 2009
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Medical News
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J Neurooncol. 2009 Jul 8.
“There is a need for relevant brainstem tumor models that can be used to test new therapeutic agents and delivery systems in pre-clinical studies. We report the development of a brainstem-tumor model in rats and the application of bioluminescence imaging (BLI) for monitoring tumor growth and response to therapy as part of this model……This model is well suited for pre-clinical testing of therapeutics that are being considered for treatment of patients with brainstem tumors.”
Childs Nerv Syst. 2009 May;25(5):527-33. Epub 2009 Jan 13
“This study demonstrates a robust rodent model with the ability to monitor brainstem tumor growth and response to chemotherapeutic agents.”
Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2009 Apr;13(4):455-68
“It should be kept in mind though that tumours can develop escape mechanisms. In particular invasive cells, which migrate away from the highly vascularized tumour core, are not targeted by anti-angiogenic therapies. In our opinion, the future of anti-angiogenic therapy will rely on a combination strategy including chemotherapy and drugs that target invasive glioma cells.”
Cancer Res. 2009 Jul 15;69(14):5987-95. Epub 2009 Jun 30
“this study describes a new high-throughput technique to generate clinically relevant tyrosine kinase activity profiles as has been shown here for pediatric brain tumors. In the era of a rapidly increasing number of small-molecule inhibitors, this approach will enable us to rapidly identify new potential targets in a broad range of human malignancies.”
Curr Stem Cell Res Ther. 2009 Dec 1. [Epub ahead of print]
“In this review, we describe the issues surrounding the identification and characterization of BTSC, the molecular biology of BTSC for different pediatric brain tumors, and suggest future avenues for the development of treatments for this devastating disease.”
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For past issues of DIPG Digest please visit
Please submit information you feel will be helpful to DIPG families to JustOneMoreDay@cfl.rr.com subject: DIPG Digest
Copyright 2008 - 2009 Just One More Day for Love, Hope & a Cure, Inc. Allrights reserved. The materials and links provided on this site have beenprepared for information purposes only and should not be construed as advice oropinions on any specific facts or circumstances. Medical research concerningdisease and treatments is an ongoing process. Readers should not act upon thisinformation, but should obtain advice from physicians, medical institutions orother professionals, as appropriate.
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