Brain Tumors
Pediatric Low-Grade Astrocytoma (PLGA) Program
Why Dana-Farber?
The Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma (PLGA) Program at Dana-Farber incorporates the components critical for translating scientific discovery into clinical applications:
- Clinical expertise:
A stand-alone pediatric neuro-oncology clinical program with specialized pediatric neuropathology expertise that incorporates cutting-edge, personalized medicine approaches for pediatric patients. - Scientific foundation:
A strong basic science program. - Strategic partnerships:
Technology that fosters translational medicine and support from a strategic research model that facilitates cross-disciplinary collaborations.
This program brings together an unparalleled scientific community of physicians, basic scientists, chemists and engineers focused on pediatric LGAs. Their collaborative environment is necessary to foster breakthroughs that will lead to the development of new, effective treatments for pediatric LGA patients.
Clinical expertise
Unlike many other comprehensive cancer centers, Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care boasts a dedicated, stand-alone clinical program for young brain cancer patients. Approximately five percent of all the new pediatric brain tumor patients in the United States pass through our program. Treating a large number of pediatric patients allows us immediate access to tumor samples and an invaluable amount of data for a level of clinical research that is unmatched at any other cancer institute anywhere else in the U.S.
Scientific foundation
Our clinical team is supported by well-established and internationally recognized basic scientists who are also Harvard Medical School faculty. An area of exceptional strength at Dana-Farber is the field of "developmental neurobiology," which addresses the process of brain formation during embryonic development and in early life. It is widely believed that the human brain arises from specialized "neural stem cells" and that pediatric cancers of the brain arise from genetic lesions within these stem cells. Dana-Farber's basic research into the biology of neural stem cells and brain development will play a pivotal role in advancing the field of pediatric LGA research through this program.
Strategic partnerships
Powerful collaborations created through Dana-Farber's Strategic Plan for Research will enable the PLGA program to transcend traditional boundaries and facilitate collaborations between scientists from multiple disciplines to focus on this type of cancer. One example of these collaborating programs is the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, with Dana-Farber's Center for Cancer Genome Discovery and the Program in Cancer Chemical Biology. This team's work in genomics, imaging and chemical biology will further be supported by Dana-Farber's powerful technology platform, which gives the researchers access to most sophisticated, new technologies.
