Funded by the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund
More children are surviving brain cancer than ever before. However, when a brain tumor comes back, it is still very hard to cure. Medulloblastoma returns in more than 30% of patients, even after intensivetreatment. This raises two important questions: Is some cancer left behind after treatment? Can we find it sooner? We hope to answer these questions with a new test that uses only a small amount of spinal fluid. The test is called a “liquid biopsy.” It looks for tumor DNA in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. In patients with medulloblastoma, we can find signs of cancer using only a teaspoon of spinal fluid. In some cases, the test may find cancer before it can be seen on a scan. Our goal is to offer this test to more patients through a Children’s Oncology Group clinical trial. We will study whether the test helps doctors choose the best treatment for each young child. This project brings together two leading labs at the University of Washington and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Our results could change how doctorswatch and treat brain tumors. We hope this work will help more children with medulloblastoma survive. The test may also help patients with other types of brain cancer, expanding its impact even further.
Location: Fred Hutch / University of Washington / Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium - Seattle
Proposal: Analytical and Clinical Validation of Cerebrospinal Fluid Liquid Biopsy for Pediatric Medulloblastoma