DIPG/DIPT Discussion

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Just One More Day for Love, Hope & a Cure


A searchable blog on DIPG research, DIPG news, recent publications, DIPG Foundations, DIPG researchers, clinical trials as well as other issues relating to Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Tumors- both Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas (DIPGs) and Atypical Pontine Lesions (APLs).

For parents, family and friends of children with DIPG looking for information and connection to others dealing with DIPG please check the buttons on the right hand side for resources.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Scrapbook and fight DIPG!





In Memory of Mara Adams



  • During the month of October, Lisa Yunt will donate 20% of all Creative Memories Sales to “Just One More Day” in memory of Mara Adams.

To see the Creative Memories products available, visit http://creativememories.com/MainMenu/Our-products-and-services


Cash, check and pay-pal accepted. Gift certificates available.


For more information, contact:
Lisa Yunt at 253-333-9868 or email: Lisayuntcrops@gmail.com.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

DIPG Digest

*****Medical News*****

Tubulin targets in the pathobiology and therapy of glioblastoma multiforme. I. class III beta-tubulin.
J Cell Physiol. 2009 Jul 31
“This minireview focuses on microtubules and tubulin as emerging targets in potential therapy of GBM using a new class of betaIII-tubulin-targeted drugs…”

Targeting rat brainstem glioma using human neural stem cells and human mesenchymal stem cells.
Clin Cancer Res. 2009 Aug 1;15(15):4925-34. Epub 2009 Jul 28
“Genetically engineered NSCs show therapeutic efficacy against brainstem gliomas.”

Virotherapy against malignant glioma stem cells.
Cancer Lett. 2009 Jul 28
“In this review, we highlight the literature regarding the existence of glioma stem cells and their characteristics. We also discuss the potential for virotherapy, a novel therapeutic approach utilizing conditionally replicative viruses, to directly target this population of self-renewing cancer stem cells.”

Dendritic cell vaccines for cancer stem cells.
Methods Mol Biol. 2009;568:233-47
“Our results suggest that only DC vaccination against neurospheres can restrain the growth of a highly infiltrating and aggressive model of glioma and may have implications for the design of novel, more effective immunotherapy trials for malignant glioma and possibly other malignancies.”

Paediatric high and low grade glioma: the impact of tumour biology on current and future therapy.
Br J Neurosurg. 2009 Aug;23(4):351-63
“Brainstem glioma remains a tumour with a dismal prognosis but relatively little is known about the underlying biology and progress will require a concerted effort to collect tissue by biopsy and autopsy to allow appropriate analysis to identify and validate targets. A new era of molecular based therapies offers the promise of major benefits in the management of paediatric glioma but translating this promise into reality will require further understanding of the biology driving these tumours.”

Cediranib: profile of a novel anti-angiogenic agent in patients with glioblastoma.
Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2009 Aug 12
“Cediranib is an effective drug in patients with glioblastoma, acting through inhibition of angiogenesis and normalization of tumor vasculature. Reduction of vasogenic brain edema is a key component of its treatment effect in this patient population. The primary side effects of cediranib include fatigue, diarrhea and hypertension.”

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September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Team Unite Awareness Flyer http://teamunite.net/pdf/TeamUnite_SEPTEMBER.pdf
Team Unite Awareness Gear http://www.cafepress.com/teamunite/6830914


September 12, 2009

Tyler's Treehouse 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk
http://www.sportoften.com/events/eventDetails.cfm?pEventId=3992
"Spirit Runners" are always appreciated!
Olde Georgetowne Swim Club, Charlotte, NC

Just One More Day
http://www.justonemoreday.org/help/NewsEvents/Sept.flyer.pdf
Celebrating Childhood Cancer Awareness Day along with the life of Alicia Martin
Sonoma Park
2922 Sonoma Way, Viera, Florida

Love, Chloe Foundation
http://www.lovechloefoundation.org/sept09.html
The foundation will be at Rolling Hills Zoo all day long to sell monkeysWe have the cutest monkeys that we are selling at the zoo. We will also have shirts, hats and bracelets


September 13, 2009

Aimee’s Army
http://www.aimeesarmy.com/howtohelp.htm
The annual Aimee Dickey walk for childhood cancer/DIPG (brain tumors)
Nay Aug Park, Scranton, PA

Just One More Day
http://www.justonemoreday.org/help/NewsEvents/Brianna%20golf%20flyer.pdf
The Brianna Sharp Golf Outing
Country Lake Golf Course
Naperville, Illinois


September 19, 2009

Love, Chloe Foundation
http://www.lovechloefoundation.org/sept09.html
2nd Annual Kickball Jam. Games start at 9am. Teams must be registeredby Tuesday, September 1.

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For past issues of DIPG Digest please visit
http://www.justonemoreday.org/DIPGDigest/DIPGDigest.html

Please submit information you feel will be helpful to DIPG families to
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DIPGFoundationsAlliance/post?postID=zoOUdF5j-M1_moxVNW60JogjJSyo9OuzV7qSCLwN1-mg3AbdOkstpxxZn5yIcvm_pI5NEgqKTIe3JcEOf2aq2VpOIQ 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.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Rare Earth's Role in Fighting the Deadliest of Cancers

The following was posted on the Metal Miner blog on August 24, 2009. JOMD is excited to be communicating with Lisa Reisman regarding the role of rare earth metals in treating brain cancer.


Rare Earth's Role in Fighting the Deadliest of Cancers


About 15 months ago I went on Facebook to see if a friend of mine, who lives in Raleigh, had a Facebook page. When I typed in her name, I was taken to a link to a prayer group for Ella Newmiller. Now I knew that Ella was my friend’s daughter (we do exchange holiday cards) and quite frankly, I was in shock. Ella, now 6, was diagnosed at the end of April 2008 with a DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), or brain-stem tumor. DIPG is a rare form of cancer (approximately 200 children per year are diagnosed with the disease), which sits in the brain stem, or pons region of the brain. Essentially every major function within the human body (with the exception of smell) must pass through the pons (e.g. consciousness, sight, the ability to swallow etc). The trouble with DIPG is that it is inoperable and for the most part, untreatable. The diagnosis remains grim. Approximately 90% of children diagnosed with the disease do not live longer than 18 months.

And Ella Newmiller is a lucky one as she is 15 months out from diagnosis and remains in excellent health living a seemingly “normal” life as her tumor has stabilized. In my spare time, I found myself reading up on the disease, shocked to learn that the basic treatments for this disease have not changed in literally 30 years. Essentially, the patient receives steroids to reduce swelling, typically followed up with radiation. And though radiation has been found to be helpful in reducing the size of the tumor, it typically provides a 3-9 month respite before the tumor comes raging back, snatching the life of whoever has this disease.

I was shocked to learn that the treatments had not changed for 30 years. It almost seems inconceivable. But what I learned from Dr. Loice Swisher, an MD and advisor to Just One More Day an advocacy/research/support network for families facing DIPG and who also has a daughter that had a brain tumor, is that it is difficult to gather tissue samples At this time, tissue can only be obtained by autopsy donation (which is best if gathered within 6 hours of the time of death).

It’s both the imaging and treatment side of things where rare earths play a big role. Because DIPGs are inoperable and typically not biopsied because of the risk involved, they are both difficult to see and difficult to treat. The difficult to see part involves a number of imaging studies that rely upon MRI, and advanced systems and technologies, led by the NIH. The leading expert in this field is Dr. Kathy Warren whom some believe sees 20-30% of all children diagnosed with this disease. Unlike other tumors that are responsive to chemotherapies taken orally or intravenously, the blood-brain barrier limits the efficacy of these delivery methods for DIPG. The NIH, however, leads up a new area of research using rare earth metal gadolinium to aid in what is called CED (Convection Enhanced Delivery) or actual drug therapy delivered directly to the tumor.

According to Dr. Russell Lonser, who is the leading researcher at the NIH involved in CED, the gadolinium compounds with the chemotherapeutic agent. At that point, they start the infusion and use MR imaging to ensure the drug is delivered in a very precise manner. By imaging this process, researchers can closely track drug delivery, view safety implications to determine drug efficacy and perhaps most important in DIPG cases, make sure the drug is delivered to the actual tumor site. Some describe DIPG tumors as “sand in a bed of grass,” making imaging an extremely important function.

In a follow-up post we’ll discuss this particular research in greater detail and the role of rare earth metals in other medical research studies.
–Lisa Reisman

Friday, August 21, 2009

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

Kinases are cellular enzymes that have specific jobs. One group of kinases is the tyrosine kinases, and their job is to phosphorylate proteins. In other words, these enzymes take a phosphate group from a chemical molecule called ATP and transfer it to a tyrosine of one of the cell’s proteins. This placing of the phosphate molecule on the protein then becomes a signal for the cell to do something. In the case of tyrosine kinases, it seems that the signal affects the cell’s normal growth, metabolism, adhesion, and motility. If not properly controlled, however, these tyrosine kinases can cause uncontrolled cellular growth and thus be a factor in the development of cancer.

The approximately 90 different tyrosine kinases known today can be divided into two groups: those associated with receptors on the cell surface (also called transmembrane receptor-linked kinases), and those within the cytoplasm of the cell. There are 58 receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) which have been grouped into 20 families. Of the 20 families several names recurrently come up in the literature with DIPGs. Examples are VEGF, EGFR and PDGFR. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receptor_tyrosine_kinase)

Tyrosine kinases have been a focus for anticancer drug development because over-active RTKs have led to the uncontrolled growth of tumors. Many of these RTKs are affected by genetic mutation or over-expression, leading to cancerous growth. Two different classes of drugs are currently being developed to target different RTKs: small molecule inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies. The web references below provide information on investigations for each class of drugs.


Small Molecule Inhibitors. These tend to be orally administered and have been used in several different trials which included children with DIPGs. Here are some examples of small molecule references:

1. Gefitinib and Radiation Therapy in Treating Children With Newly Diagnosed Gliomas (www.clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT00042991?term=iressa+children+St+Jude&rank=5
2. Erlotinib Alone or in Combination With Radiation Therapy in Treating Young Patients With Refractory or Relapsed Malignant Brain Tumors or Newly Diagnosed Brain Stem Glioma (http://www.clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT00360854?term=Tarceva+brainstem&rank=2)
3. Vandetanib and Radiation Therapy in Treating Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Brainstem Glioma (http://www.clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT00472017?term=vandetanib+St+Jude&rank=1)
4. A recently opened multi-TKI trial: Pazopanib Hydrochloride in Treating Young Patients With Solid Tumors That Have Not Responded to Treatment (www.clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT00929903?term=pazopanib+brain+tumor&rank=2)
5. Targeting cancer with small molecule kinase inhibitors. Nat Rev Cancer. 2009 Jan;9(1):28-39 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19104514?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pub med.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed)


Monoclonal Antibodies. Intravenous monoclonal antibodies, such as Avastin and Cetuximab, are currently being investigated in the treatment of DIPG both on and off trial.

Here is a recently completed trial for Cetuximab: Study of Erbitux™ (Cetuximab) in Pediatric Patients With Refractory Solid Tumors (www.clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT00110357?term=Cetuximab+pediatric&rank=1)

And two more references on Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors in general:

Tyrosine kinase – Role and significance in Cancer. Int J Med Sci. 2004; 1(2): 101–115. (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1074718)

Different drug names, targets, pharmaceutical companies and mechanism of action are given in a chart at the bottom of this Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrosine_kinase_inhibitor

This is a rapidly evolving field. It is helpful to have some knowledge of this field in considering the options for treating DIPG.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Journal Watch

“Brainstem glioma remains a tumour with a dismal prognosis but relatively little is known about the underlying biology and progress will require a concerted effort to collect tissue by biopsy and autopsy to allow appropriate analysis to identify and validate targets. A new era of molecular based therapies offers the promise of major benefits in the management of paediatric glioma but translating this promise into reality will require further understanding of the biology driving these tumours”.

So ends Dr. Darren Hargrave’s new abstract in the British Journal of Neurosurgery on the impact of tumor biology on current and future therapy for pediatric gliomas.

Dr. Hargrave points out that targeted therapeutic agents directed against specific molecular tumor targets offer promise in making a difference for pediatric glioma patients. Unfortunately, the lack of evaluable tumor tissue with diffuse intrinsic pontine tumors has hindered advancement in research and understanding with these tumors. Over the past couple years there have been increasingly visible strategies to try to obtain tissue.

A transition seems to be on the horizon for diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas with the tissue debates. The issues are not easy but a concerted, collaborative, considered focus could make a significant difference for our kids. To do the best for our children, we call on each institution treating pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma patients to critically analyze their own approach to the ‘tissue issue’ for DIPGs.

There are several places actively undertaking tumor tissue molecular analysis of DIPGs; however, these researchers are still in need of this most precious resource.
http://www.justonemoreday.org/Research/TumorTissueAnalysis.html

Reference-
Paediatric high and low grade glioma: the impact of tumour biology on current and future therapy.
Br J Neurosurg. 2009 Aug;23(4):351-63.
http://tinyurl.com/n56wpz

Monday, August 3, 2009

Gold Ribbon for Childhood Cancer

Just One More Day has teamed up with Kids V Cancer and Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation in launching a petition for Gold Ribbon Awareness with a goal of a million signatures!

Earlier this year, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation unveiled the first product to have the gold ribbon for childhood cancer awareness- Jel Sert's Fla-Vor-Ice

In addition to Candlelighters, Jel Sert, also helps brain tumor researcher at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago through Reid's Lemon Aid.

This petition is not only to gain awareness but also to thank/recognize the first gold ribbon product. The hope is that overwhelming support of this can be used to convince other companies to consider a gold ribbon on their products.

In addition to signing the petition, one can write or call JelSert for their support of our kids-http://www.jelsert.com/Contact-Us/
1-800-323-2592
Please feel free to pass this one to your friends.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

DIPG Dialogue

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.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

DIPG Digest

DIPG News brought to you by:
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.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

DIPG Digest

DIPG News brought to you by:
Just One More Day for Love, Hope & a Cure
http://www.justonemoreday.org/

June 13, 2009

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Medical News
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Treatment of diffuse intrinsic brainstem gliomas: failed approaches and future strategies. :“The discussion includes a rationale for stereotactic biopsies as well as possible therapeutic options of local chemotherapy in these lesions.”

Neurological grading, survival, MR imaging, and histological evaluation in the rat brainstem glioma model. :“Local chemotherapy in the brainstem glioma model showed significant efficacy for histological changes and survival. Our neurological grading enables quantification of drug and tumor-related morbidity as an important factor for functional performance during therapy.”

Diffuse pontine glioma in Jordan and impact of up-front prognosis disclosure with parents and families. :“Contrary to the common belief, our study showed that do not resuscitate should be addressed in Muslim patients with high-risk malignancies. We also found that diffuse pontine glioma warrants further study in developing countries.”

Continual reassessment method vs. traditional empirically based design: modifications motivated by Phase I trials in pediatric oncology by the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. :“Compared to the TM, our simulations indicate that the modified version of CRM is more accurate, exposes fewer patients to potentially toxic doses, and tends to require fewer patients. "

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Medical Updates
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The FDA Biopsy MeetingOn April 27, 2009, the Committee met to discuss the scientific and ethical issues involved in obtaining and using brain biopsy specimens to evaluate gene expression patterns in children with diffuse pontine gliomas.The slides from this meeting can be viewed here

DIPG Conference Memorial “Alicia Pueyo” Workshop Research on Pontine Gliomas held in Barcelona Spain,on February 26th 2009Conference video is now available at Just One More Day

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Foundation News
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DIPG Dialogue - Talking with the ExpertsJust One More Day is starting a new feature called DIPG Dialogue which will contain interviews with researchers, physicians and other advocates in the DIPG community.

2nd Annual Smiles For Sophie Forever Birthday Bash and Dash5K and 1 Mile Run/WalkSaturday, July 4, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.Walker Road Park31621 Walker RoadAvon Lake, OH 44012

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For past issues of DIPG Digest please visit
http://www.justonemoreday.org/DIPGDigest/DIPGDigest.html
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.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

DIPG Dialogue

Dr. Maryam Rahman
June 2009
Introduction:

Dr. Maryam Rahman is a research fellow in Dr. Reynolds’ lab at the University of Florida. Dr. Rahman is also a 4th year neurosurgery resident with a strong interest in neuro-oncology and novel therapy development. She has been responsible for BMP receptor/pathway activation experiments and the application to the NIH and FDA for testing of BMP 4 in human malignant glioma.
Dr. Rahman’s research on BMP4 and cell lines has recently been funded through a collaborative effort within the United Forces Against Brain Tumors. Just One More Day along with Gunner’s Magic Train and the Musella Foundation joined together to support her research. BMP4 has been shown to cause human glioblastoma cancer stem cells to become end cells that have a limited number of cell divisions and are more easily killed. The question is whether this effect can occur with other types of glioma cells.

Questions & Answers:

Where do you get cancer cell lines from?

Cancer lines are created by taking fresh tumor tissue from a surgical specimen. This tissue is dissociated into single cells and then placed in culture with growth factors. These cultures are placed in an incubator at 37 degrees C (like all cultures) and nurtured with media and growth factors until they start proliferating. Once the cells start proliferating, after several days, they outgrow their culture flask and need to be "passed" which means that they are dissociated into single cell suspension. Some of these cells are placed in a new flask with media and growth factors. The other cells can also be placed in culture (to expand the number of cells you produce) or used for experiments. Here at the University of Florida, we obtain our tumor tissue from the Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research. They obtain consent from the patients pre-operatively. Tissue is collected intra-operatively and given to us for cell culture and experimentation.

Would each individual's tumor grow out a different type of cell line?

Absolutely. Every patient's tumor is unique and therefore, having multiple lines of a type of tumor is beneficial for experimentation. Even within a certain type of tumor, there is variation in behavior and response to drugs.

Why does one use a cell line?

Cell lines are useful because it gives you an endless supply of tumor cells to use for experiments. If the cells we obtain from tumor tissue are fixed and used immediately for experimentation (which we do if we have a lot of cells and have some left over after placing them in culture), it could only be used once. The cell lines allow us to experiment with the tumor indefinitely.

Are cell lines stable or do they change over time?

Cell lines do not usually change over time. However, culture conditions do select out certain cells that can grow in media and growth factors. Therefore, cell lines are not always completely representative of the original tumor. This is the biggest argument against cell line work. I think cell line work is an important first step in understanding tumor biology, but it has to be supplemented and followed by animal and finally human work.

If there is a biopsy is there enough tissue to do what is needed therapeutically and perhaps to grow out a cell line?

Unfortunately, there is usually not enough tissue from a biopsy to do anything other than pathologic analysis. We only get tissue that is given to us after the pathologist takes what is necessary for diagnosis.

Dr. Rahman, you are saying that there are no cell lines of diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas. Since we do not have cell lines but we have had biopsy and autopsy tissue which show most of these tumors to be gliomas , but not all GBMs, then it could follow that it might be important to find an agent that works on a wide variety of gliomas to try to cure DIPGs?

I do think that experimentation using other low grade glioma cell lines may be relevant to the treatment of DIPGs. You are absolutely correct with that question. I think that's why it's important to experiment with BMP in gliomas other than GBM.

References-

BMPing off glioma stem cells. Cancer Cell. 2008 Jan;13(1):3-4

Thursday, June 4, 2009

DIPG Conference

Click here for workshop notes.
Research on Pontine Gliomas
Barcelona, February 26th 2009

Presentation videos:

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma a Clinical Introduction by Ofelia Cruz

Pontine Glioma: By Darren Hargrave
Clinical Trials for Children with DIPG, a Critical View
To Biopsy or Not Biopsy: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges
Investigational Avenues in UK

The Origin of Brainstem Tumors by Sebastian Pons
Wrong Cell or Just the Right Cell at Wrong Place

Molecular Gliomagenesis:Gene and Core Pathways by Joan Seoane
The Therapeutic TGF-Beta Approach

Molecular Medicine for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas by Mark W. Kieran

Murine Animal Models of Brainstem Tumors & Delivery Systems of Drugs to the Brainstem
by Ioannis Roussos

New Clinical Trials from St. Jude/PBTC by Alberto Broniscer
The St. Jude Protocol of Autopsies for Children with DIPG

Clinical Trials at Duke - So What is New? by Sri Gururangan

Gene Therapy Strategies by Manuel Ramirez

Development of Novel Therapeutics &Targeted Delivery in Pediatric Brainstem Glioma
by Viola Caretti & Dannis Van Vuurden

Monday, May 25, 2009

Clinical Trials for the Newly Diagnosed

This is meant to assist those looking for clinical trails for the newly diagnosed child with a DIPG. Since trials are continually being updated, added and closed all information should be independently confirmed as it may no longer be accurate. You can find out more information about clinical trials at-http://www.justonemoreday.org/TreatingPontineGliomas/ClinicalTrials.html


Radiologic Study (can be in conjunction with other therapeutic studies)Proton Nuclear Magnatic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging Compared with Fludeoxyglucose F 18 Positron Emission Tomography Scanning in Determining Biologic or Metabolic Tumor Activity in Young Persons with Brain Tumors
Eligible Age- 1 to 21
Location- Bethesda, MD (NIH)
Study Chair- Katherine Warren, MD
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00070512?term=Newly+Diagnosed+Glioma+Children&recr=Open&rank=26


Open Therapeutic TrialsArsenic Trioxide and Radiation Therapy in Treating Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed Gliomas
Phase 1
Eligible Age- 3 to 21
Location- Johns Hopkins, MD
Study Chair- Kenneth J Cohen, MD
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00095771?term=arsenic+Trioxide+brain+tumor&rank=3


Interferon Alfa After Radiation Therapy in Treating Young Patients With Glioma
Phase 2
Eligible Age- up to 21
Study Chair- Katherine Warren, MD
Location- Bethesda, MD (NIH)
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00041145?term=pontine+glioma&rank=10


Combination Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy With and Without Methotrexate in Treating Young Patients with Newly Diagnosed Gliomas
Phase 3
Eligible Age- 3 to 18
Study Chair- Christoph Kramm, MD
Location- MD Anderson (sponsor from Germany)http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00278278?term=pontine+glioma&rank=8


A Study of Bevacizumab Therapy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed High Grade Gliomas and Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas
Phase 1//2
Eligible Age- 3 to 30
Principal Investigator- Maryam Fouladi, MDUS
Location- Cincinnati, Ohio
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00890786?term=pontine+glioma&rank=2


Temozolomide and Radiation Therapy in Treating Young Patients with Pontine Glioma
Phase 3
Eligible Age- 2 to 21
Study Chair- Simon Bailey, MD
Locations- Multiple throughout the UK
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00514397?term=pontine+glioma&rank=5


Vandetanib and Radiation Therapy in Treating Young Patients with Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Brainstem Glioma
Phase 1
Eligible Age- 2 to 20
Study Chair- Alberto Broniscer, MD
Location- St Jude, Memphis, TN
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00472017?term=St+Jude+brainstem&rank=2


Capceitabine and Radiation Therapy in Treating Young Patients with Newly Diagnosed, Nonmetastatic Brain Stem Glioma or High Grade Glioma
Phase 1
Eligible Age- 3 to 21
Study Chair- Susan Blaney, MD
Location – PBTC sites in the US
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00357253?term=St+Jude+brainstem&rank=10


Vaccine Therapy in Treating Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed or Recurrent Glioma
Phase 1
Eligible Age- 3 to 20
Study Chair- Regina Jakacki, MD
Location- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00862199?term=Newly+Diagnosed+Glioma&recr=Open&rank=7



Trials on Clinicaltrials.gov but Not Yet Opened for the Newly Diagnosed Child with a DIPG (at the time of being placed on the site but could be now)


Valproic Acid and Radiation Followed by Maintenance Valproic Acid and Bevacizumab in Children with High Grade Gliomas
Phase-1
Eligible Age- 3 to 21
Study Chair- Susan Blaney MD
Location- Texas Children’s
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00879437?term=Newly+Diagnosed+Glioma+Children&recr=Open&rank=10

As of May 25, 2009

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

DIPG Dialogue

Just One More Day is starting a new regular blog feature called DIPG Dialogue which will contain interviews with researchers, physicians and other advocates in the DIPG community.

Introduction:

Dr. Ohlfest is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the gene therapy program in Department of Neurosurgery and a faculty member of the Stem Cell Institute. Dr. Ohlfest studied molecular biology as an undergraduate at Iowa State University and received his Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology at the University of Minnesota. He then did post-doctoral research with Dr. Andrew Freese at the University of Minnesota focusing on gene therapy in the central nervous system. Dr. Ohlfest's research interests are focused on using gene transfer to correct disease and manipulating endogenous progenitor cells by gene transfer. In addition, targeted therapies for the eradication of so called "brain tumor stem cells", the tumor cells capable of self-renewal and the cause of tumor relapse, is an area of ongoing investigation in his lab.


Questions & Answers:

Dr Ohlfest, it seems that you have a super hero, Batman, that just might be making a difference for children with brain tumors. How is that?

Batman was the first dog to undergo an experimental treatment for glioma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Batman was treated with the combination of surgery, gene therapy, and anti-tumor vaccination in the summer of 2008. Remarkably, Batman is alive and tumor-free nearly one year later. This novel treatment could only be tested in a large animal because mice, the standard preclinical "model" for testing new therapy, are just too small. Specifically, the brains of mice are not amenable to surgery where the gene therapy can be deposited into the resection site to hit the tumor cells left behind. In dogs we can use the same dose of gene therapy and vaccine that would be given to people. Because of this, we not only help the dog, we also get answers about effectiveness and safety that can be extrapolated to human patients.

We feel the treatment of dogs can revolutionize the way clinical trials are done for brain tumor patients. By using the dog data to justify dose, timing, and drug choices, it may become possible to test several experimental agents in a single phase I trial, a scenario that seldom happens in modern neuro-oncology. This is important because history has shown that combination therapy is better than mono therapy, yet for brain tumor patients, most phase I clinical trial are restricted to single experimental drugs.


How does this type of treatment differ from other forms of treatment?

It does not involve chemotherapy or radiation, which those people familiar with DIPG know causes toxicity. Instead, we attempt to get the body to take care of the problem by activating a tumor-specific immune response. The vaccine and gene therapy we are using have been optimized for potency over the last 4 years. They are superior to some of the first generation vaccines and gene therapies that were developed in the 1990s and first part of this decade.


What have the results been so far with the dogs?

We have documented stable disease, and tumor regressions, with minimal side effects. Four dogs have been treated to date, although we are going to enroll dozens more.


It seems that this approach is something that you feel strongly about, why is that?

I have seen first hand what brain cancer and brain cancer therapy does to people. My grandmother died from therapy-induced toxicity after her ovarian cancer spread into her brain. She was participating in a clinical trial where chemotherapy was directly administered into the brain. At that time, I thought “we can do better” and I still believe that today. I think we have pushed radiation and chemotherapy to the upper limit. Fresh ideas are long over due. There is mounting evidence that the immune response controls cancer in many people spontaneously. We just need to learn how to direct the immune response to the right target.


Do you feel that this is something that truly can be translated to children- and specifically children with DIPGs? If so, how long would it take to get such a trial open?

Absolutely. DIPG is an ideal target for vaccine therapy in particular. In many cases, after radiation there is a large reduction in tumor burden, a perfect time to harness the immune response to target those few tumor cells that are left behind. A trial for DIPG using immunotherapy could be open in a year or less. That’s the best case. The rate limiting steps to getting this trial open are time (required to go through the process of FDA approval) and funding (to pay all costs associated with vaccine production and immune monitoring).


What sort of funding are you in need of?

Because DIPG is very rare, it can be difficult to get funding from the usual sources to focus on this particular tumor. We are in need of funding to conduct preclinical research focused on DIPG experimental therapeutics specifically. Additionally, funding is needed to support the first phase I clinical trial.


Besides raising money, is there anything that DIPG parents can do to help with your research?

Yes, spread the word. Learn more about our research by visiting www.braintumorlab.com and tell your friends.

Any dog with a brain tumor is eligible for consideration in one of our canine clinical trials. Most dog owners don’t know we are offering to pay for the entire cost of their dog’s therapy. We are treating these dogs with the intent to cure; this is not research for research’s sake.

In addition, tell your congressman and senators about the lack of funding for brain tumor research, and DIPG in particular. Less than 20% of grants submitted to the National Institutes of Health are funded. The state of Minnesota could develop a brain cancer research bill, similar to California (stem cells) or Texas (cancer research). We can do better, but it will require a change in priorities at the state and federal level.

To see a video clip featuring Batman and Dr. Ohlfest, click here:

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

UmbrELLA of Hope


Please join us for UmbrELLA of HOPE a family fun event in remembrance of Ella Hope Hauschildt and families fighting Diffused Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
On December 7, 2007 our lives changed forever, our daughter Ella Hope was diagnosed with a DIPG a rare and inoperable brain tumor.
During Ella’s fight we tried conventional and alternative treatments, but to this day there is still no known treatment that is able to destroy this tumor.
Ella was born into heaven on November 21, 2008 after an 11 ½ month battle. On that day our focus changed from fighting for our little girl’s life, to fighting for brighter days for all children and families dealing with this dreadful tumor.
I ask that you join us in this fight on Saturday May 16, 2009 at the UmbrELLA of HOPE family fun event http://www.umbrellaofhope.com/ to remember Ella and all children fighting this disease and to support Just One More Day.org.
Just One More Day.org is committed to providing information and support for families affected by Diffused Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, promoting awareness and funding research for a cure. The event will include a family walk on the trails of Lake Front Park in Prior Lake, Minnesota.
Other events include:
* Kids bounce houses
* Face painting
* Clowns
* Music entertainment
* Story telling
* Much more.
To register for the Family Fun Event please go to http://www.umbrellaofhope.com/ . We look forward to seeing you and we appreciate and applaud your willingness to walk with us in this battle!!!
Donations of coloring books, crayons, markers, colored pencils and craft items will also be collected for Riah’s Rainbow http://www.riahsrainbow.org/. Riah’s Rainbow was created by the Klien family in memory of little Mariah Klien who passed away from DIPG on August 31, 2008. Their goal is to bring smiles to the faces of children who have to endure a day, a week or even months in the hospital. All donations will be delivered to Fairview University Hospital. Please consider bringing a donation to bring smiles to kids who are battling cancer or chronic illnesses.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

FDA Public Hearing on Biopsy of Children with DIPGs- Part 3

Stereotactic Biopsies

Although typical DIPGs (without focality or exophytic components) can not even be partially resected because the tumor tissue intertwines with normal tissue in an area that houses most critical functions of the body in a small space, it is possible to biopsy these lesions via an open or a stereotactic technique. Dr Michael Handler, pediatric neurosurgeon from Children’s in Denver, presented an overview of stereotactic biopsy technique and a review of the literature specific for brainstem biopsies.

Stereotactic neurosurgery is a minimally invasive procedure where tumor imaging is used in conjunction with external reference points on the head (either with a frame or frameless via fiducial markers) to develop a three dimensional image to precisely localize a location within the brain. The idea of this technique has been around for more than a century. Horsley and Clarke used a frame on experiments with monkeys in analyzing the cerebellum back in 1906. Stereotactic biopsies for humans really did not take off until the 1970’s with the advent of CT scans which allowed for detailed imaging and 3D localization. The technique rapidly adapted to MRIs when this technology became readily available.


Dr. Handler pointed out that during the 80’s there was a rapid expansion of experience. It was found that-

  • The safety of this technique became well established.
  • This technique was applicable to deep lesions in the brain.
  • Questions about sample adequacy subsided
  • It was found to be an unquestionably effective technique.


Dr. Handler presented the results of 13 different studies on stereotactic brainstem biopsies to try to give background on the ability to get diagnoses from a small sample, morbidity and mortality. Some of the most interesting articles include-

Brainstem stereotactic biopsies sampling in children.Neurosurgery 2006 Feb;104 (2 supplement): 108-114In this study 10 children underwent frameless biopsy. All samples were diagnostic and there was one case of transient diplopia.

Stereotactic biopsy of brainstem masses: decision analysis and literature review.Surg Neurol 2006 Nov; 66(5): 484-90This was a metanalysis of 378 patients. The results included-- 6.6% transient complications,. 1.5% permanent new deficit and a 0.5% mortality.

Prospective feasibility study of outpatient brain biopsies. Neurosurgery 2002 51 (2): 358-361In this series of 76 patients which were slated for outpatient brain biopsies only 3 got admitted. One was for IV antibiotics after an infection developed and the other was a failed biopsy (a hard lesion which the needle could not penetrate).

“Prospective feasibility study ofIf the reader is interested, this would be most easily reviewed from Dr. Handler’s slides referenced at the bottom (slide 10-17).

Dr Handler ended his presentation with a quote from Dr. Andrew Brodbelt commentary in the British Journal of Neurosugery last October regarding this controversy.“It surprises us treating adults with brainstem tumours that there appears to be reluctance in the paediatric world to perform biopsies….We owe it to current and future patents to biopsy brainstem tumours.”

References:

April 27th, 2009 FDA joint PAC/ODAC public meeting on DIPG BiopsyAll presentation slides including Dr. Handler’s are available at the site http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/09/slides/2009-4431s1-00-Index.html

A Short History of Stereotactic Neurosurgery

Brainstem stereotactic biopsies sampling in children.
Neurosurgery 2006 Feb;104 (2 supplement): 108-114

Stereotactic biopsy of brainstem masses: decision analysis and literature review.
Surg Neurol 2006 Nov; 66(5): 484-90

Prospective feasibility study of outpatient brain biopsies.
Neurosurgery 2002 51 (2): 358-361

Commentary on diffuse brain stem glioma in children
Br J Neurosurg. 2008 Oct;22(5):625.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

FDA Public Hearing on Biopsy of Children with DIPGs- Part 2

To Biopsy or Not to Biopsy- How Did We Get Here?

Dr Foreman gave the dismal background on DIPG treatments. The only treatment known to help prolong life in these children is radiation; however, attempts to intensify radiation treatments have not improved outcome. In addition, chemotherapy has been tried both before and after radiation without success. In fact, the UKCCSG stated, “This approach should be abandoned as toxic and without benefit and with toxicity.” Even high dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow rescue has failed.

Given the terrible track record and significant lack of specific tumor biology knowledge, why do we not biopsy these tumors?

The most influential paper that changed the standard method of diagnosing diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas from biopsy to MRI was published by Albright in 1993 [1]. This paper reviewed the results of a brainstem trial (CCG-9882). In this paper the authors recommended that biopsies not be done because they added nothing to the diagnostic precision of MRI. Dr Foreman noted complication rates were not included as part of the justification for this position, and there was actually no surgical mortality in this study.

In a commentary on the Albright paper, Dr Fred Epstein (a pioneer in the field of pediatric neurosurgery – especially in the brainstem) stated, “Routine biopsy should be relegated to neurosurgical history.”

This is where we are today. As opposed to adults where biopsy of diffuse brainstem masses is common as there is are a greater variety of etiologies, biopsy of pediatric DIPGs is currently only recommended for atypical cases. Yet more and more, authors are publishing such comments as, “Given the lack of efficacy of conventional drugs, a better understanding of the biology of this tumor is the key to more targeted therapy.” [2]

In an attempt to address whether science has progressed sufficiently to warrant a change in philosophy toward DIPG biopsy, the committee debated the following scientific question:
“Based on your discussion, has the state of the science in drug targeting research progressed to where there is a reasonable expectation of success in identifying drug candidates to move into early phase clinical trials for DIPG?”

The vote was 16 yes, 7 no and 1 abstention. (The reason given for this abstention was inadequate knowledge of this subject.)

Reference-
1. Magnetic resonance scans should replace biopsies for the diagnosis of diffuse brain stem gliomas: a report from the Children's Cancer Group.
Neurosurgery. 1993 Dec;33(6):1026-9; discussion 1029-30

2. Brainstem gliomas in children and adults.
Curr Opin Oncol. 2008 Nov;20(6):662-7

3. April 27th, 2009 FDA joint PAC/ODAC public meeting on DIPG Biopsy-Slides

Sunday, May 3, 2009

FDA Public Hearing on Biopsy of Children with DIPGs- Part 1

On Monday April 27th, the FDA held an open public meeting to discuss the scientific and ethical issues involved in developing drug treatments for children with diffuse pontine glioma.

Biopsying children with diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas has become increasingly controversial. Clearly there are physicians that strongly hold the opinion that there will likely be no movement to cure these usually fatal tumors until tissue is obtained. Those that take this position tend to feel that the state of the art advances in neurosurgery and genomics have made it possible for DIPGs to be treated in the same way that almost all other brain tumors (as well as virtually all other cancers in the body)- with pathologic diagnosis.

This debate has gained even more attention because of a recent French trial for newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma patients in which biopsy was mandatory in order to be able to participate. Of the 24 patients, all survived and two had transient neurological problems. In addition, two patients were found to have low grade tumors and were treated differently specifically because of the biopsy results. With respect to the remaining 22 high grade tumors, there was no change in therapeutic intervention as a result of biopsy.

Although there was no specific protocol or agent placed in front of the committee, the obviously increasing interest in the change of direction with this tumor caused the DIPG biopsy issue to be placed before the committee. At this time there appears to be a minimum of two or three potential US protocols on the table that include biopsy of DIPG.

It was stated that biopsies may be routinely recommended for atypical lesions. This is a clinical decision, not an ethical question.

In addition, biopsies performed as part of a determination for therapeutic intervention were also not to be part of the conversation. By definition these would be therapeutic biopsies. However, it was noted by some that the results from selecting agents based on molecular markers has been marginal in the field thus far.

The ethical question brought before the committee was:
“Assuming a reasonable expectation of scientific success, should children with DIPG undergo a non-therapeutic brain biopsy to advance the study of possible drug targets (i.e., for research purposes only)?”


References:

Stereotactic biopsy of diffuse pontine lesions in children.
J Neurosurg. 2007 Jul;107(1 Suppl):1-4

April 27th, 2009 FDA joint PAC/ODAC public meeting on DIPG Biopsy- Slides

Thursday, April 30, 2009

MAY IS BRAIN TUMOR AWARENESS MONTH!

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Tomorrow is May 1 -- the first day of Brain Tumor Awareness Month.

Please wear a gray ribbon all month and spread the word about this disease that is taking so many of our children (and adults) -- and without hope for effective treatment or a cure for so many.

If you'd like a Just One More Day gray, glow in the dark wristband, they are $3.00 each and can be ordered at http://www.justonemoreday.org/giftStore/JOMDMerchandise.html

Please join in walking for a cure -- in Minnesota:

http://www.umbrellaofhope.com/


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Please let us know of any brain tumor awareness events and media coverage in your area! Spread the word and join in the fight!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

DIPG Digest

April 26, 2009


Medical News

Pediatric brain tumors: mutations of two dioxygenases (hABH2 and hABH3) that directly repair alkylation damage. : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19290481?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum


Turning cancer stem cells inside-out: an exploration of glioma stem cell signaling pathways. Free Full Text- http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/R900013200v1

Tumour vaccine approaches for CNS malignancies: progress to date. : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19275269?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum


New Trial

Vaccine Therapy in Treating Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed or Recurrent Glioma
A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Effects of Vaccinations With HLA-A2-Restricted Glioma Antigen-Peptides in Combination With Poly-ICLC for Children With Newly Diagnosed Malignant or Intrinsic Brain Stem Gliomas (BSG) or Incompletely Resected Non-Brainstem High-Grade Gliomas (HGG) or Recurrent Unresectable Low-Grade Gliomas (LGG)
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00862199?term=vaccine+brain+tumor+children&rank=6

Convection Enhanced Delivery of IL13-PE38QQR in Patients with DIBG
*The following information was copied directly from http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ . It is, however, our understanding that the study is not actually open as of this date.An Open Label Dose Escalation Safety Study of Convection-Enhanced Delivery of IL13-PE38QQR in Patients With Progressive Pediatric Diffuse Infiltrating Brainstem Glioma and Supratentorial High-Grade Glioma
This study is currently recruiting participants. *
Verified by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC), March 2009First Received: April 10, 2009 No Changes Posted
Sponsored by:National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00880061?term=convection+enhanced+delivery&rank=1


FDA to Discuss DIPG Biopsies

Date and Time of Meeting:
April 27, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Date and Time of the Open Public Hearing:
April 27, 2009, between approximately 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Address of Meeting:
Washington DC North/Gaithersburg Hilton,
620 Perry Pkwy.,
Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

Agenda:
On April 27, 2009, the Committee will meet to discuss the scientific and ethical issues involved in obtaining and using brain biopsy specimens to evaluate gene expression patterns in children with diffuse pontine gliomas.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/advisory/default.htm


Foundations News

Reflections of Grace -- Race For Grace Draws Huge Turnout http://www.wpxi.com/news/19036532/detail.html

Just One More Day – UmbrELLA of Hope Family Fun Walk
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Lakefront Park in Prior Lake MN
http://www.umbrellaofhope.com/Pages/Home.aspx



For past issues of DIPG Digest please visit http://www.justonemoreday.org/ParentPointers/DIPGDigest.html

Please submit information you feel will be helpful to DIPG families to http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DIPG/post?postID=hVhc8pdqOFzVDqPPCWmsdtlxyFXGsFzbG0Ku4_g-Uda_0auMReldT5KuEz6XCpkQl2N-Z7PNS6OzzTGEfOk66khP--g subject: DIPG Digest

Copyright 2008 - 2009 Just One More Day for Love, Hope & a Cure, Inc. All rights reserved. The materials and links provided on this site have been prepared for information purposes only and should not be construed as advice or opinions on any specific facts or circumstances. Medical research concerning disease and treatments is an ongoing process. Readers should not act upon this information, but should obtain advice from physicians, medical institutions or other professionals, as appropriate.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

DIPG Dialogue

Just One More Day is starting a new regular blog feature called DIPG Dialogue which will contain interviews with researchers, physicians and other advocates in the DIPG community.

Introduction

Dr Shaohua Yang, M.D. & Ph.D.,
is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. He has had neurosurgery residency training at Beijing Neurosurgical Institute China, one of the largest neurosurgical centers in the world, and has extensive clinical experience with brainstem tumor. Dr Yang's primary research is funded in the field of stroke and neuroprotection by National Institute of Health. He also has been pursuing research with brainstem glioma. In the end of 2008, Dr. Yang published his results of a novel experiment in the Journal of Neurosurgery, in which C6 glioma cells were implanted into the pons of juvenile and adult rats.


Questions & Answers:

Dr. Yang, what did your study show?

First of all, I would like to thanks this blog to provide the opportunity to share my research with all of you, especially with the parents of the brainstem glioma patients.
It has been well known that the outcome of brainstem glioma is very different between children and adult. Brainstem glioma constitutes up to 20% of childhood brain tumor, and has the worst outcome of any brain tumor in children. Over 80% of brainstem gliomas in children are diffuse intrinsic brainstem gliomas, which mean that the tumor cells are tangled extensively with normal brainstem tissue and make surgical intervention even radiotherapy almost impossible. On the other hand, brainstem glioma in adult is less aggressive and grows focally, which may benefit from surgical intervention and radiotherapy. Therefore, the median survival of adult brainstem glioma patient is much longer than that of children.
It is generally believed that the difference between childhood and adult brainstem glioma is due to the different grade of gliomas in these two groups. Normally, low-grade brainstem gliomas are considered to have a characteristic pattern focal growth, while high-grade brainstem gliomas grow diffusely and aggressively. However, this is not always the case, low-grade gliomas such as fibrillary astrocytomes have also been found in association with diffuse brainstem gliomas. Furthermore, very few histological data are available for diffuse brainstem gliomas because very few surgical intervention has been conducted in this type of glioma as biopsy results do not alter the treatment strategy.
From my clinical experience, I have noticed that children brainstem is much softer than that of adult. Thus, I thought about that the anatomical, histological, and immunological diversity between children and adults may be also contribute to the different biological behavior of diffuse and focal brainstem gliomas in children and adults. We used C6 glioma cells, which were chemical-induced glioma cells in rats. We implanted C6 cells in brainstem of young and adult rats to see how these tumor cells grow. What we found is that the brainstem glioma in young and adult rats imitates the characteristics of brainstem gliomas in humans. Since we put the same cells into the brainstem of both young and adult rats, this result indicates that the growth pattern and invasiveness of brainstem glioma could be due the host factors.


Do you have any explanation of why there is this difference between the tumors made in the young versus the adult rats?

From these results, what we can conclude so far is that the host factors could contribute the difference between brainstem gliomas in the young versus adult rats. These factors include anatomical, histological, and immunological factors. The growth and invasiveness of the tumor cells are not only depended on the cells but also on the environment. Different from adults, children are still in the development stage. They keep growing everyday, not only the bone and muscles, but also their brain. The development need a large panel of growth related factors, which could also change the tumor cell behavior and make them grow faster and more invasive. In addition, the tumor behavior is also depended on the status of immune system. In our body, we have cells that could potentially change into cancer everyday. But, fortunately, almost all of them will be killed by our immune system. It has been believed that the brain is an immune privileged site. But, it is now clear that normal glial cells such as microglia do potentially function as immune cells in brain. In children, the immune system is not mature yet. Thus, the immunological factor could also contribute to this difference.


What do you see as the next step in understanding these differences?

As we mentioned early, factors as growth related factors and immune capacity in brain could contribute to the difference between young and adult brainstem glioma. But this is just a hypothesis so far. What we need to do is to test this hypothesis using this rat model and other methods. We can precisely target each factor, such as immune factor or any of the growth factors, to see which play major role in this difference. What I predict is that the difference is not likely due to a single factor but the combination effects of a group of factors. If we could identify these factors, we could be able to develop novel treatment for the brainstem gliomas in children.


Is it possible for this information to become clinically relevant for children who have these types of tumors?

For the modern medicine, no therapy could be developed without the basic and translational research. Our study demonstrated, for the first time, that this rat model of brainstem glioma in young and adults imitate the brainstem glioma in humans. Therefore, the use of this model could facilitate future studies to identify the factors contribute to the difference of brainstem glioma between children and adults, and to discovery of novel therapies to treat the diffuse brainstem glioma in children.


What barriers do you have in moving forward on such research?

The major barrier to move forward the research is the funding resources. The brainstem glioma is relative rare comparing to other cancers. Few people realize that brainstem tumors are the most common pediatric cancer other than leukemia and lymphoma. The funding resource for this devastating disease has been very limited. I conducted a search for the current and historical NIH grants (1972-2009) to brainstem tumor, and not even one has been found. It has been very few scientists and physician that have been devoted to study this disease. Even for the other well funded medical researches in US, we are facing the problem that less and less people are devoted into the research. It is hardly imaging that a very well educated Ph.D, after 4 years college and more than 5 years Ph.D study, the start salary for them is only little bit more than $35,000/yr. Sadly, we have been investing trillions of dollars for the war and bail out the banks, but we have just invested a tiny fraction of these into the research in the last decade to our own health problem. So, we need our whole society to realize this problem.


Reference-
Brainstem glioma progression in juvenile and adult rats. J Neurosurg. 2008 Nov;109(5):849-55

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Convection Enhanced Delivery of IL13-PE38QQR in Patients with DIBG

*The following information was copied directly from http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. It is, however, our understanding that the study is not actually open as of this date.

An Open Label Dose Escalation Safety Study of Convection-Enhanced Delivery of IL13-PE38QQR in Patients With Progressive Pediatric Diffuse Infiltrating Brainstem Glioma and Supratentorial High-Grade Glioma
This study is currently recruiting participants. *
Verified by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC), March 2009
First Received: April 10, 2009 No Changes Posted

Information provided by:
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00880061

Purpose
Objective: The primary purpose of this study is to test the safety and feasibility of giving a new experimental agent, called IL13-PE38QQR, directly into regions of the brain in patients with diffusely infiltrating pontine glioma (DIPG) or with recurrent or progressive supratentorial high-grade glioma (HGG) using a technique called convection-enhanced delivery or CED. CED uses continuous pressure to push large molecules through the membranes protecting the brain to reach brain tumors. At the same time, we can watch where the molecules go in the brain by attaching a tracer, gadolinium-DTPA, to the IL13-PE38QQR, which can then be seen in the brain with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Because we do not know the best dose to use in patients with DIPG or HGG, we will give increasing amounts of IL13-PE38QQR to small groups of patients with each type of brain tumor, known as a dose escalation study. Secondary purposes of this study include determining the effects of this experimental therapy on the tumor, and evaluating the physical changes in the tumor before and after the therapy.
Study Population: Twenty pediatric patients with recurrent or progressive DIPG or supratentorial HGG that have undergone standard treatment and who meet all the Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria may be enrolled. Eighteen patients will receive treatment; an additional two patients may be screening failures or unevaluable.
Design: We propose a Phase I single institution, open label, dose escalation (doses of 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 micrograms/ml), safety and tolerability study of IL13-PE38QQR infused via CED into patients with either DIPG (up to 9 patients) or recurrent HGG (up to 9 patients). IL13-PE38QQR will be administered to regions of tumor determined by radiographic findings. Escalating dose levels will be evaluated in the following dose cohorts (3 patients per Cohort): Cohort 1 = 0.125 micrograms/ml, Cohort 2 = 0.25 micrograms/ml and Cohort 3 = 0.5 micrograms/ml.
Outcome Measures: To assess the safety, tolerability and potential efficacy of CED of IL13-PE38QQR, we will use detailed clinical and radiographic examinations. These will be performed at baseline and on post-infusion days 1, 28 and 60. After post-infusion day 60, clinical and radiographic studies will then be performed every 8 weeks until imaging or clinical evidence of recurrence/progressive disease or new treatment is initiated.
...
Study Type: Interventional
Study Design:
Treatment, Non-Randomized, Open Label, Uncontrolled, Single Group Assignment, Safety/Efficacy Study
Official Title:
An Open Label Dose Escalation Safety Study of Convection-Enhanced Delivery of IL13-PE38QQR in Patients With Progressive Pediatric Diffuse Infiltrating Brainstem Glioma and Supratentorial High-Grade Glioma
Further study details as provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):
Primary Outcome Measures:
1) Feasibility of perfusing specific sites within the CNS with IL13-PE38QQR, administered concurrentlywith gd-DTPA
2) Safety and tolerability of escalating doses of IL13-PE38QQR via CED to pediatric patient with DIPGs and HGGs
Secondary Outcome Measures:
Determine effect of IL13-PE38QQR on MRI tumor measurements, symptom improvement or worsening, changes on clinical exam, radiographic changes, steroid dosing, QOL testing and survival of pediatric patients with DIPG and recurrent HGG
Estimated Enrollment: 20

Study Start Date: April 2009

Intervention Details: Drug: IL13-PE38QQR
Detailed Description:
Objective: The primary purpose of this study is to test the safety and feasibility of giving a new experimental agent, called IL13-PE38QQR, directly into regions of the brain in patients with diffusely infiltrating pontine glioma (DIPG) or with recurrent or progressive supratentorial high-grade glioma (HGG) using a technique called convection-enhanced delivery or CED. CED uses continuous pressure to push large molecules through the membranes protecting the brain to reach brain tumors. At the same time, we can watch where the molecules go in the brain by attaching a tracer, gadolinium-DTPA, to the IL13-PE38QQR, which can then be seen in the brain with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Because we do not know the best dose to use in patients with DIPG or HGG, we will give increasing amounts of IL13-PE38QQR to small groups of patients with each type of brain tumor, known as a dose escalation study. Secondary purposes of this study include determining the effects of this experimental therapy on the tumor, and evaluating the physical changes in the tumor before and after the therapy.
Study Population: Twenty pediatric patients with recurrent or progressive DIPG or supratentorial HGG that have undergone standard treatment and who meet all the Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria may be enrolled. Eighteen patients will receive treatment; an additional two patients may be screening failures or unevaluable.
Design: We propose a Phase I single institution, open label, dose escalation (doses of 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 micrograms/ml), safety and tolerability study of IL13-PE38QQR infused via CED into patients with either DIPG (up to 9 patients) or recurrent HGG (up to 9 patients). IL13-PE38QQR will be administered to regions of tumor determined by radiographic findings. Escalating dose levels will be evaluated in the following dose cohorts (3 patients per Cohort): Cohort 1 = 0.125 micrograms/ml, Cohort 2 = 0.25 micrograms/ml and Cohort 3 = 0.5 micrograms/ml.
Outcome Measures: To assess the safety, tolerability and potential efficacy of CED of IL13-PE38QQR, we will use detailed clinical and radiographic examinations. These will be performed at baseline and on post-infusion days 1, 28 and 60. After post-infusion day 60, clinical and radiographic studies will then be performed every 8 weeks until imaging or clinical evidence of recurrence/progressive disease or new treatment is initiated.
Eligibility
Ages Eligible for Study: up to 17 Years
Genders Eligible for Study: Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Criteria
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
Age less than 18 years
Diagnosis: recurrent or progressive:
DIPG
HGG
Patients undergoing surgical resection must have measurable/evaluable disease prior to study entry.
Histopathologic Diagnosis
A histopathologic diagnosis is not required for patients with DIPG but a biopsy may be recommended if the patient has an atypical presentation or atypical findings on MR-imaging.
Histopathologic confirmation for patients with HGG is required. If necrosis is suspected based on MR-imaging and Nuclear Medicine scans, biopsy or surgical resection for confirmation of disease progression may be required.
Prior Therapy
Patients must have received at least standard doses of radiation (i.e., greater than 54 Gy).
Surgery/biopsy - Patients must be more than 2 weeks from any neurosurgical procedure and cleared by the Principal Investigator before undergoing CED.
Radiation - Patients must be more than 4 weeks from last fraction of radiation to the target site
Chemotherapy - Patients must not be on concurrent chemotherapy. The last dose of chemotherapy must be greater than 2 weeks prior to CED and the patient must have recovered from any toxic effects of prior therapy (to less than Grade 2 or baseline).
Biologic therapy - Patients must be greater than 7 days from biologic therapy.
Investigational therapy - Patients must be greater than 30 days from any investigational therapy.
Patients must be healthy enough to tolerate surgery and general anesthesia in the opinion of the primary investigator. This includes, but is not limited to:
Adequate baseline organ function, including an age-adjusted normal serum creatinine OR a creatinine clearance greater or equal to 60 mL/min/1.73m(2), total bilirubin less than 2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) and direct bilirubin within normal limits. Patients with elevated SGPT (up to 5 time ULN) will be eligible if the elevation is attributed to steroid treatment.
If neurological deficits are present, they must be stable for at least 1 week prior to registration.
Patients must be able to undergo MR-imaging with gadolinium-based contrast administration (e.g. no ferrous-containing implants, no pacemakers, no allergy to contrast, etc).
All patients or their legal guardians must sign a document of informed consent indicating their
understanding of the investigational nature and the potential risks associated with this study.
When appropriate, pediatric patients will be included in all discussions in order to obtain verbal and written assent.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
Patients with an uncorrectable bleeding disorder
Patients with multifocal or leptomeningeal disease
Patients with signs of impending herniation or an acute intratumoral hemorrhage
Patients on concurrent chemotherapy or biologic therapy for the treatment of their tumor
Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding, because of unknown effects of the study agent, the strong magnetic fields and Gadolinium containing contrast agents on the fetus; patients of child-bearing potential must be willing to practice an effective form of birth control, including abstinence, hormone therapy, intrauterine device, 2 barrier methods.
Contacts and Locations
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00880061
Contacts
Contact: Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office
(800) 411-1222
mailto:prpl%40mail.cc.nih.gov?subject=NCT00880061,
Contact: TTY 1-866-411-1010

Locations
United States, Maryland
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
Recruiting
Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
Sponsors and Collaborators
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
More Information
Additional Information:
NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web Page
Study ID Numbers:
090117, 09-N-0117
Study First Received:
April 10, 2009
Last Updated:
April 10, 2009
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00880061