Brain Tumors
Pediatric Low-Grade Astrocytoma (LGA) Program
Why Dana-Farber?
The strength of Dana-Farber's clinical pediatric neuro-oncology program makes the Institute uniquely poised to lead the way in advancing LGA research. Unlike many other comprehensive cancer centers, Dana-Farber boasts a dedicated, stand-alone clinical program on pediatric brain cancers enhanced by its alliance with Children's Hospital Boston. Collectively, approximately five percent of all the new pediatric brain tumors in the United States pass through Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Our pediatric patient volume allows us immediate access to tumor samples and an invaluable amount of data for clinical research that is unmatched at any one Institute anywhere else in the country.
The clinical pediatric brain cancer program at Dana-Farber is supported by a solid foundation in basic science. All physician/scientists at Dana-Farber have joint faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School (HMS). An area of exceptional strength at Dana-Farber is in the field of "developmental neurobiology," which addresses the process of brain formation during embryonic development and in early life. It is now widely believed that the human brain arises from specialized "brain stem cells" and that pediatric cancers of the brain arise from genetic lesions within these stem cells. Dana-Farber's basic research in the biology of neural stem cells and brain development will play a pivotal role in advancing the field of low-grade glioma research through the LGA Program.
The LGA Program will capitalize on powerful collaborations created through Dana-Farber's visionary Strategic Plan for Research. The Strategic Plan established several new Integrative Research Centers (IRCs) to transcend traditional boundaries and facilitate the collaboration between scientists from multiple disciplines to focus on cancer. One such collaboration the LGA Program will benefit from is with the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, through Dana-Farber's Center for Cancer Genome Discovery, as well as the Center for Cancer Systems Biology — two of the Institute's Integrative Research Centers. Dana-Farber's research model also created a powerful technology platform to provide access to the most sophisticated new technologies. The LGA Program will benefit from the Institute's technology platform, including genomics, imaging and chemical biology.
The LGA Program at Dana-Farber incorporates the components that are critical to translate scientific discovery into clinical applications — a stand-alone pediatric neuro-oncology clinical program, a strong basic science program, technology that fosters translational medicine all supported by a strategic research model that facilitates cross disciplinary collaborations. It brings together a scientific community of physicians, scientists, chemists and engineers focused on low-grade astrocytomas that is unparalleled anywhere in the world. This is what is needed to make the necessary breakthroughs that will lead to the development of new effective treatments for LGA patients.
