View clinical trials related to Brain Tumor.
Filter by:The aim of this study is to follow up with all of the pediatric brain tumor patients who received proton beam radiation therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for which there is baseline neuropsychological testing in order to measure changes, if any, in neurobehavioral functioning (executive skills, emotional/behavioral functioning, and adaptive abilities) and their use of special education services at one year or more post-treatment. The investigators will also correlate neurobehavioral data with pertinent clinical information. Participation will be maximized through the use of mail-in, parental- and self-report questionnaires.
There are two types of external radiation treatments (proton beam and photon beam). As part of the participant's treatment, they will receive radiation to the entire central nervous system (CNS); this is known as craniospinal irradiation (CSI). In the past, photon radiation therapy has been used for CSI. In this study we will be examining the effects of proton beam radiation therapy. Studies have suggested that this kind of radiation can cause less damage to normal tissue than photon radiation therapy. The physical characteristics of proton beam radiation let the doctor safely deliver the amount of radiation delivered to the tumor that is normally delivered through standard therapy but spare more normal tissue in the process.
The purpose of this study is to use transcranial Doppler (TCD) to predict intracranial pressure (ICP) and clinical outcome of neurocritical patients.
- Study No.: KSPNO-S-081 Reduced-dose Craniospinal Radiotherapy Followed by High-dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Rescue in Children with Newly Diagnosed High-risk Brain Tumor - Study No.: KSPNO-S-082 High-dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Rescue in Infants and Young Children with Newly Diagnosed High-risk Brain Tumor To Avoid or Reduce Craniospinal Radiation - Study No.: KSPNO-S-083 High-dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Rescue in Children with Recurrent Brain Tumor or Non-germinomatous Germ Cell Tumor with Inadequate Response to Conventional Treatment
Primary Objectives: 1. To evaluate the feasibility of enrolling children and adolescents with newly diagnosed brain tumors, leukemia, or lymphoma in a program designed to prevent the academic and cognitive declines that commonly result following central nervous system (CNS) disease and treatment. Hypothesis 1: Despite the rigors of disease and treatment, children and adolescents will be able to participate in the CTP while they are receiving treatment for cancer. The high participation of our patients in routine school activities during treatment suggests that they will have the energy and interest required to participate in cognitive training. 2. To evaluate whether a Cognitive Training Program (CTP) might be helpful to patients in preventing attention deficits that commonly result following CNS disease and therapy. Hypothesis 2: Patients in the CTP arm of the study will show fewer declines in neurocognitive performance at the end of training and again six months later, as compared with the control group who will receive the usual services provided by the Education Program in Pediatrics. 3. To explore the relationship between CTP treatment compliance and stability/decline in cognitive and academic performance in children and adolescents who are being treated for brain tumors, leukemia, and lymphoma. Hypothesis 3: Level of compliance with CTP treatment will be predictive of a patient's performance on neurocognitive measures.
The goal of this research study is to investigate the role of genes that may point to a higher risk of developing a glioma. Researchers will use new gene mapping techniques to study how high-risk factors are passed on through a family's genes and increase the risk of developing gliomas. Objectives: We propose an international multi-center, multidisciplinary study consortium, GLIOGENE, to identify susceptibility genes in high-risk familial brain tumor pedigrees using the most sophisticated genetic analysis methods available. To address our hypothesis, we propose the following specific aims: Aim 1: Establish a cohort of 400 high-risk pedigrees for genetic linkage analysis. To date, we have identified and collected biologic samples from 20 high-risk families that have met our criteria of 2 or more relatives diagnosed with a brain tumor. From the 15 centers in the United States and Europe, we will screen and obtain epidemiologic data from approximately 17,080 gliomas cases to identify a target of 400 families for genetic analysis. We will establish a cohort of the first and second-degree relatives from these glioma cases to obtain new knowledge about how cancer aggregates in glioma families. We will also acquire biospecimens (blood and tumor tissue), and risk factor data from relevant family members. Aim 2: Identify candidate regions linked to familial brain tumors. To strengthen evidence of linkage to regions found in our preliminary analysis and to identify additional regions linked to brain tumors, we will genotype informative glioma pedigrees identified in aim 1 using Affymetrix 10K GeneChip with markers spaced throughout the genome, and conduct a genome-wide multipoint linkage scan with these markers. Aim 3: Fine map the regions established in Aim 2 by genotyping selected SNPs from genome databases. We will attempt to further refine the regions identified in Aim 2 to less than 1cM by using approximately 1,500 - 2,000 carefully selected SNPs. The prioritization of regions will be based on a combination of the strength of evidence for linkage from families of various ethnic backgrounds and the presence of obvious candidate genes.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of MRI-guided focused ultrasound thermal ablation of brain tumors performed through intact human skull using the ExAblate transcranial system. We will collect data to establish the basic safety of this type of treatment as the basis for later studies that will evaluate its clinical efficacy.
The primary purpose of the study is to determine the efficacy of an investigational therapy called DCVax(R)-L in patients with newly diagnosed GBM for whom surgery is indicated. Patients must enter screening at a participating site prior to surgical resection of the tumor. Patients will receive the standard of care, including radiation and Temodar therapy and two out of three will additionally receive DCVax-L, with the remaining one third receiving a placebo. All patients will have the option to receive DCVax-L in a crossover arm upon documented disease progression. (note: DCVax-L when used for patients with brain cancer is sometimes also referred to as DCVax-Brain)