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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A human brainstem glioma xenograft model enabled for bioluminescence imaging.

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.”

An experimental brainstem tumor model using in vivo bioluminescence imaging in rat.

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.”

Anti-VEGF therapies for malignant glioma: treatment effects and escape mechanisms.

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.”

Kinome profiling in pediatric brain tumors as a new approach for target discovery

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.”

Cancer Stem Cells in Pediatric Brain Tumors

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

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.

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.

DIPG Digest

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


Medical News
p16 promoter methylation in the serum as a basis for the molecular diagnosis of gliomas.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19240607?ordinalpos=5&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Interferon-beta, MCNU, and conventional radiotherapy for pediatric patients with brainstem glioma.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19260101?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Targeting multiple kinases in glioblastoma multiforme.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19243279?ordinalpos=29&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

National Childhood Brain Tumor Prevention Network Act of 2009

Advocacy Resource Center-
http://www.justonemoreday.org/Advocacy/Advocacy.html
http://tinyurl.com/b7zsku

Yahoo Group-
CBTPN · Childhood Brain Tumor Prevention Network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBTPN/

State Resolutions to Support S. 305 and H.R. 653: http://www.justonemoreday.org/Advocacy/StateResolutions.html


FDA Open Public Hearing on Avastin

March 31, 2009
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hilton Washington DC/Silver SpringThe Ballrooms8727 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD301-589-5200.

Information from the FDA: http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/oc20098-nm.pdf
Background information available March 29, 2009: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/09acdocs.html


Foundations News

Moss Report Newsletter provided by MJ's Children's Glioma Cancer Foundation: http://www.marcjr.org/FoundationMembers/MossReport/tabid/461/Default.aspx

The Cure Starts Now http://www.thecurestartsnow.org/

The Cure Starts Now is happy to welcome Jon and Anne Cinnelli and Marc and Emily Quayle to our strategic council. Both families know all to well the struggles we face in the fight against brain cancer and have made a major financial contribution to The Cure Starts Now and we look forward to their leadership contributions now. Their place on the strategic council will help guide us to the first 10-13 branches of CSN opening by years end. They will also help the existing strategic council decide on funding more research grants (our second funding cycle in 6 months). We are excited about the new partnerships and being able to broaden our operations. If you would like more information in joining these families in their combine fight against brain cancer, please contact me at brooke@thecurestartsnow.org.
Please join us on April 4th in Macon Georgia for the Imagine a Cure Music and Food Festival benefitting The Cure Starts Now. Organized by Patsy Mercer whose relative, Brayden Harrell, lost his battle with brain cancer. The event will be a wonderful tribute to him and other children who have and will battle brain cancer. Visit http://2009imagineacure.com/ for more details and we hope to see you there.


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 JustOneMoreDay@cfl.rr.com 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.

Tumor Tissue Analysis for DIPGs

Just One More Day is committed to finding a cure for DIPGs. Many researchers believe in order to find a cure we must begin with tumor tissue analysis. To help these researchers succeed, a fund has been established to support research and logistics for molecular analysis of diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas. Donations can be made at JustOneMoreDay.org or by clicking the donate button on this page.

Just One More Day has been in contact with many of these researchers and has received detailed information about the studies being conducted. Please take a look at the information provided.

Children’s National Medical Center, Washington DC
National Institutes Of Health
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

Our website will continue to be updated as we receive more information.

Just One More Day for Love, Hope & a Cure

DIPG Digest

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

February 5, 2009
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Foundations News
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http://www.riahsrainbow.org/ : Introducing Riah's Rainbow
Helping children enjoy art as much as Mariah did
The ultimate goal of Riah's Rainbow is to bring smiles to the faces of children who have to endure a day, a week or even months in the hospital. Our mission is to be able to give local hospitals new coloring books,crayons, markers, craft items, puzzles, etc. to pediatric patients.

http://www.smilesforsophieforever.org/grants-for-families.asp : Smiles for Sophie Forever Family assistance
Knowing of the heart-wrenching emotional strain, compounded by the financial burden of caring for and treating the child, the Grant Committee made the application process as simple as possible. There are only three documents required in order to be considered for a $500 renewable grant; applying families are eligible for three grants in a calendar year. The requirements are: the completed SFSF grant application, a letter from the attending physician, and a copy of the patient’s birth certificate.

http://www.kraftwerks-remodeling.com/ : There's a Monkey in my chair
There's a Monkey In My Chair is a program developed by the Love, Chloe Foundation. It is designed for pre-school and elementary aged children who are diagnosed with cancer.
Each child is provided with a "monkey kit" which includes a big stuffed monkey that takes their place in school when they are unable to be there. The kits include the monkey with a backpack, a book, and other items that can be utilized by the child and/or their classmates.
http://www.lovechloefoundation.org/ : Love, Chloe Foundation

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Advocacy Call
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http://www.justonemoreday.org/Advocacy/NCBTPreventionNetworkActof2009.html : National Childhood Brain Tumor Prevention Network Act of 2009 S. 305

http://www.justonemoreday.org/Advocacy/NCBTPreventionNetworkActof2009/LetterToCongressionalRepresentativeandSenator.html : Sample Letter to Congressional Representative and Senator

http://www.justonemoreday.org/Advocacy/NCBTPreventionNetworkActof2009/LetterToStateRepresentativeAndSenator.html : Sample Letter to State Representative and Senator

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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 JustOneMoreDay@cfl.rr.com 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.