Medical Breakthroughs
December 10, 2009

Dana-Farber's Dr. Mark Kieran and his colleagues will soon launch a national study, funded by Zach's Fund, in which live tissue biopsy samples will undergo genome analysis to unlock the mysteries of diffuse pontine gliomas ("DPG").  This world renowned medical team believes this study represents the greatest hope of finding a cure for DPG, the deadliest of all pediatric cancers. 

Dr. Kieran is excited to report that significant progress is being made to prepare for the study - he and his colleagues expect to iniatiate biopsies on new patients this spring!

Here is what Dr. Kieran's team has accomplished thus far:
  • The protocol has been fully written
  • The neurosurgical team is making the final edits
  • The novel molecular profiling technique has been validated
  • A commitment from Children's Hospital in LA has been made to provide some funding for the imaging required

There has been a huge response from hospitals throughout the country who wish to participate in this groundbreaking study.  The  neurosurgical sites that have been chosen to participate are (this list is tentative as details are still being worked out):

  • Children's Hospital Boston
  • University of California San Francisco
  • Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center, Seattle
  • Children's Hospital Los Angeles
  • The Children's Hospital, Denver
  • Duke Medical Center, North Carolina
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY
  • Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago
  • Children's Medical Center, University of Utah
  • Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
  • Texas Children's Hospital, Houston

In addition, there will be non-surgical sites, where the treatment will be administered, but the biopsies for these patients will be performed at one of the neurosurgical sites listed above.  Adding these sites will increase the accrual and analysis of data.  The tentative non-surgical sites are:
  • Johns Hopkins, Baltimore
  • Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Portland, OR
  • Washington University Children's Hospital, St. Louis
  • University Texas Southwestern, Dallas
  • Miami Children's Hospital
  • University of Florida, Gainesville
  • Children's Health Care of Atlanta
  • University of Mississippi, Jackson, MS
  • Louisville Children's Hospital, KY
  • New York University, NY
  • University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
  • University of Rochester Children's Hospital, Rochester, NY

Finally, this study will include an analysis of 24 tissue samples previously collected in a study in France, giving the team even more data.

Zach’s Fund is the only major funding source in the US backing this groundbreaking research and treatment protocol.

Zach’s Fund has gotten DPG research moving again. Please make a contribution to keep this leading-edge research advancing to a cure. This is your chance to have a significant impact on the lives of children diagnosed with this deadly cancer.   We are moving towards our goal to find a cure … please come with us and donate now.








The
Zachary
Carson
Brain Tumor
Fund
Zach gets radiation
Dr. Mark Kieran, Steve Carell and Zach