Our Clinic

Clinical Trials

CC-PBTC hosts two dozen clinical trials for children and young adults with brain tumors, including multiple early phase studies from Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC). Neurooncology care is led by Patricia Robertson, M.D., Andrea Franson, M.D., Santhosh Uphadhyaya, M.D., and Carl Koschmann, M.D.

A central nervous system targeted agent prediction (CNS-TAP) tool developed by U-M researchers is now being used to recommend precision medicine therapies in multicenter PNOC clinical trials. U-M Peds-MiOncoSeq serves as the host sequencing site for two ongoing PNOC trials for DMG/DIPG patients.

pediatric brain tumors where research, therapies and key ideas in brain tumor care are discussed. DIPG researchers from outside institutions are invited to present their work, interact with U-M researchers and foster new collaborations.

Precision Oncology

Precision medicine allows physicians to personalize care based on an individual patient’s genetic profile. Through genomic sequencing, our precision medicine clinic identifies genetic changes that could have developed a tumor, then matches drugs to target these abnormalities.

CHILDREN’S BRAIN TUMOR NETWORK (CBTN)

PEDIATRIC NEURO-ONCOLOGY CONSORTIUM (PNOC)

With researchers across Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States, the teams at PNOC hospitals are made up of specialists from different brain tumor treatment areas as well as nurses, social workers, psychologists and staff whose combined expertise enhances care for each patient.

The CC-PBTC was added to the PNOC in 2019, the only PNOC institution in the state of Michigan.

CBTN is the largest pediatric brain tumor biorepository in the world with more than 40 partner foundations and more than 30 member institutions. CC-PBTC is a satellite site and Carl Koschmann, M.D., is the scientific co-chair for the CBTN. U-M sequencing data and pediatric brain tumor autopsies are deposited into the CBTN in real time for collaborating researchers.

Dipg Focus Group

A monthly focus group that brings together U-M labs with national and international experts in

The U-M Peds-MiOncoSeq program, led by Rajen Mody, M.D., and Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., offers clinical laboratory improvement amendments (CLIA) certified 1700 gene panel DNA/RNA tumor/ germline sequencing with results within two to four weeks at no cost to patients. Over 200 pediatric brain tumors have been sequenced with data deposited into the CBTN for researchers to access in real time. Results have been used to develop new predictors of response and correlative markers for tracking in liquid (cerebrospinal fluid and plasma) samples.

Tissue Banking

The U-M Brain Tumor Bank, led by neurosurgeons Karin Muraszko, M.D., Jason Heth, M.D., and Hugh Garton, M.D., M.H.Sc., includes thousands of specimens from brain tumor patients — an enormous resource which has fueled research not only here at U-M but also for national multicenter collaborations.

U-M’s investment and expertise in genetic sequencing of tumor tissues has positioned us as one of the world’s destinations for sophisticated epigenetic analysis.

We are expanding our brain tumor tissue bank to include more and better characterized pediatric brain cancer specimens, with a goal of shedding important light on high-risk brain tumors. By expanding and further developing a pediatric brain tumor bank including all types of tumors, we will greatly improve our ability to make important discoveries and progress in uncovering novel treatments for high-risk brain tumors.