Brain tumours

 

Brain tumours are the second most common cancer affecting children and primitive neuroectodermal tumours of the central nervous system (CNS-PNETs) are the most common type of paediatric brain tumour. 

 

Five-year survival rates have remained in the 50 to 70 per cent range for at least 20 years and children with these brain tumours face the possibility of brain damage and disability associated with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

 

The main priority of the brain tumour research program is to develop a better understanding of the underlying genetic abnormalities that lead to the generation of a brain tumour cell from a normal brain cell. 

 

More specifically, we are looking at neural stem cells in the developing fetal brain as the development of CNS-PNETs is likely to be linked to the genes that function in the pathways that regulate critical aspects of stem cell growth. 

 

We are also using our unique panel of CNS-PNET cell lines, which were established from primary patient specimens obtained locally, to test chemotherapy drugs to determine their sensitivity and resistance profiles. 

 

Overall, our approach will allow us to develop more effective and less toxic therapies for children with CNS-PNETs.

Ependymoma is the third most common brain tumour affecting children and remains incurable in 40 per cent of patients. 

 

As is often the case with paediatric brain tumours, survivors of ependymoma are frequently left with devastating long-term neuro-cognitive problems.  We are looking at tumour initiation and progression in pre-clinical studies so we can better understand the disease and how it can be more effectively and safely treated.

 

Research is continuing on a national study into the causes of childhood brain tumours. 

 

As a sister study to our national leukaemia research, we are investigating genetic, dietary and environmental risk factors for childhood brain tumours. 

 

Children up to 14 years of age diagnosed with a brain tumour at one of the nine paediatric oncology units in Australia have been invited to participate, with retrospective recruitment of those diagnosed in 2005 as well as prospective recruitment of those diagnosed in 2006 onwards. 

 

Control children are identified using Australia-wide random digit dialing and are frequency matched to children with a brain tumour by age, gender and state of residence.  Recruitment of children to the study continued during 2009.