Cancer ribbon colors: Chart and guide

Brain Tumor Center

Make a Contribution to the BTC Today

Donate now »

There exists a dire need to improve treatments for malignant brain tumors. Current strategies, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapies, can have serious side effects and are generally not curative. The Brain Tumor Center (BTC) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center provides a unique opportunity to bring together researchers and clinicians for scientific discovery and development of truly effective brain tumor therapies. Together, our physicians and scientists are working to deploy all available modern genomic and transgenic technologies afforded by MSK's state-of-the-art facilities.

In the face of challenges to more effectively treat glioblastoma (GBM), basic scientific efforts must be supported to better understand the unique underlying biology. The cell or cells that normally give rise to GBM must be identified so that the key changes that take place in transforming them into tumors can be identified.

Modern genomic studies suggest the diversity of GBM subtypes. The functional and clinical significance of these findings must be validated and translated into practical application.

The natural history of tumor development must be better comprehended. The brain microenvironment that likely supports tumor growth must be understood and neutralized. The precise mechanism of tumor growth and development, whether hierarchical or plastic, must be unraveled to establish a baseline for evaluating new therapies.

The BTC is committed to supporting and enhancing collaboration among researchers, as well as the development of tools to advance the fight against brain tumors.

The BTC is committed to supporting and enhancing collaboration among researchers, as well as the development of tools to advance the fight against brain tumors. Through the establishment of a comprehensive patient-derived xenograft (PDX) program, thoroughly curated GBM samples will be used to develop xenografts for comprehensive molecular profiling. Primary cultures will also be established and genomically mined. Complementary genetically engineered mouse models of GBM will be characterized and maintained.

These long-term resources will be at the disposal of MSK researchers and clinicians for the testing of new hypotheses and for preclinical evaluation.

A seminar series and seed grants for the development of new hypotheses will be supported as a means to maintain a connected research community.

If you would like to obtain further information about the Brain Tumor Center, or donating to the program please contact Michelle Lien by email: [email protected].

After 4 Rounds Of Chemotherapy, Isabella Strahan Rings The Bell

Isabella Strahan, the daughter of "Good Morning America" co-anchor Michael Strahan, is celebrating a major milestone nearly six months after publicly revealing she had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor.

The 20-year-old shared in a vlog on her YouTube channel that she recently completed her final round of chemotherapy.

"This [has been] a long journey but I made it," she said. "And now I have to recover and get back to my usual state, which is going to take a long time, but I'm done with treatments."

Isabella Strahan celebrates ringing the bell at the end of her chemotherapy treatments for medulloblastoma.

Isabella Strahan/YouTube

Friends, family and hospital staff celebrated Isabella Strahan's accomplishment with a confetti parade at the hospital.

She then rang the bell to signify the end of chemotherapy, summing up the celebration as a "great day."

Michael Strahan's daughter reveals brain tumor battle

Michael Strahan took to Instagram to celebrate his daughter's milestone in her fight against cancer.

"@isabellastrahan you are a SUPERWOMAN! Ringing that bell finishing chemo and on your way!" he captioned a video of her ringing the bell. "You continue to fight with a smile on your face, strength, and determination. I am one proud Dad! Love you, Bella."

Isabella Strahan celebrates ringing the bell at the end of her chemotherapy treatments for medulloblastoma.

Isabella Strahan/YouTube

Isabella Strahan was a freshman at the University of Southern California when an MRI scan in October led to her diagnosis of medulloblastoma, a cancerous and fast-growing brain tumor that develops in the cerebellum, the back of the brain where movement and coordination are controlled, according to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University, where she is being treated.

Isabella Strahan and football player Greg Brooks Jr. Bond over brain tumor journey

Isabella Strahan shares positive update in brain tumor battle

Michael Strahan's daughter battles brain tumor: What to know about medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is a type of malignant tumor that accounts for about 20% of all childhood brain tumors, according to estimates published in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience. About 300 children are diagnosed with medulloblastoma each year.

Isabella Strahan celebrates ringing the bell at the end of her chemotherapy treatments for medulloblastoma.

Isabella Strahan/YouTube

After undergoing brain surgery in late October, Isabella Strahan underwent rehabilitation followed by six weeks of radiation treatment.

She began chemotherapy in February and said she endured side effects including fatigue, hair loss and brain fog, and was hospitalized several times due to setbacks including fevers.

Isabella Strahan shares day-in-the-life amid chemotherapy, brain tumor battle

For the past six months, Isabella Strahan has shared the ups and downs of her health journey on her YouTube channel, an effort she said she started to help raise awareness about brain tumors, especially in kids.

"With my platform, I hope to just kind of be a voice and be a person who people who maybe are going through something similar, going through chemotherapy or radiation, can look at and just hear and just watch, or find something interesting about their day," she said on "GMA" in January. "I'm just excited for that."

Children's Brain Cancer Research Gets £5m Boost To Cut Treatment Side Effects

Researchers are mapping patients' brains to better understand how damage occurs (Image: Getty)

Crucial research into kinder treatments for children struck by brain tumours has received a £5million boost from Stand Up 2 Cancer and Cancer Research UK.

Around three quarters of youngsters diagnosed survive for at least five years thanks to treatment advances.

But the harsh effects of radiotherapy mean two thirds of those who receive it suffer long-term side effects including learning disabilities and hormone deficiencies.

Scientists are creating an "atlas" of young patients' brains to map out where the most damage occurs during radiotherapy - and understand how to reduce it.

Paediatric junior doctor Josh Goddard, 32, is a patient advocate for the study. He was diagnosed with spinal cancer aged 12 and underwent radiotherapy to his head and spine, plus chemotherapy.

READ MORE: Suncream warning as cases of skin cancer at all-time high in UK

Josh suffered side effects after cancer treatment from the age of 12 (Image: Josh Goddard)

The radiotherapy caused cancer in his thyroid, a gland in the neck that secretes growth hormones, which had to be removed. Josh now needs daily injections of human growth hormone and levothyroxine tablets.

He said: "It's incredibly important that we find treatments that don't cause long-term side effects.

"I've found that my brain processing power isn't as quick as it used to be, I can't think as quickly. I have a reduction in energy levels and I don't think my short term memory is as good."

Other side effects include skin on his head that is particularly sensitive to sunlight.

Josh added: "When I was told I was going to have radiotherapy, I remember my dad saying he felt like it was archaic, it causes lots of problems.

"We don't know whether the radiotherapy was effective because we did both at the same time. But my dad still wishes I never had radiotherapy because of the long-term effects."

The young medic, of Lancaster, still has an inoperable 18cm tumour at the base of his spine. It causes him some pain and numbness in his legs but has remained stable for around a decade.

Radiotherapy can damage young patients' developing brains (Image: Getty)

Around 400 children are diagnosed with brain tumours each year in the UK. Josh's experience as both a patient and doctor has made him passionate about the need to find kinder treatments.

He added: "I work with patients from birth to 60-70 years old. Some are cancer patients and I see through their eyes what it's like going through that for the first time. I see them and their families struggling. 

"If we can advance science to a point where there's minimal intervention, minimal risk, minimal consequences of having treatment for cancer, that's the end game.

"Some of the treatments we have are more brutal than others. If we can take the edge off, then that's only a good thing."

Josh was inspired to study medicine by his time in hospital and interactions with doctors.

One of his oncologists was Dr Martin McCabe, of the University of Manchester, who leads the BRAINatomy study.

Dr McCabe explained that radiotherapy is a vital weapon against childhood cancers but its benefits come at a price.

He said: "Radiotherapy is very effective at curing tumours but it does a lot of damage. A lot of children who develop brain tumours are quite young so their brains are still developing.

"When you irradiate children's brains, you get a lot of problems in the long-term with poor memory, low processing speed, general difficulty coping with new information and learning things. That's a real problem.

"I look after young adults aged 16-25 and a lot still have quite bad memory a few years after radiotherapy."

Dr McCabe's team have spent the last few years analysing brain scans and conventional radiotherapy plans from children with medulloblastoma, a cancer that starts in the lower back part of the brain.

They have already identified areas where exposure to higher doses of radiation is particularly harmful to the growing brain and linked to later problems with processing speed.

The team is now testing whether it is possible to avoid these regions using modern technology.

Collaborators in the UK, US and the Netherlands will review past patient cases to determine whether their radiotherapy could have been planned differently to avoid damaging healthy tissue.

DrMcCabe said: "When doctors and physicists are planning the treatments, they focus pretty much exclusively on getting the right dose to the tumour, rather than necessarily thinking very hard about how radiotherapy gets into and out of the tumour.

"That's because we've never really had any studies before that have said, which are the bits of the brain that we need to avoid?"

The £5million funding will also be used to carry out similar analysis on scans from children treated with proton beam therapy, a more targeted form of radiotherapy often used for paediatric brain cancers.

And the study is investigating if replacing hormones early and giving drugs to reduce inflammation bring further benefits.

Reducing treatment side effects would make an "absolutely colossal" difference to families, Dr McCabe said.

He added: "Radiotherapy is such an important part of curative brain tumour treatment. Modern radiotherapy techniques are already leading to better learning outcomes.

"Our research aims to build on those improvements so that future children and young people affected by brain tumours can get on with their lives with a minimum of damage."

 Thanks to research, more than three in four children and young people diagnosed with a brain tumour in the UK survive for at least five years.

Every extra moment that they can spend with their families is precious and we want those moments to be as comfortable as possible. 

Many young people who survive their cancer face long-term side effects, such as fertility problems or loss of hearing, as a result of their treatment.

These problems often persist for the rest of their lives. 

The research from the University of Manchester highlights that, as well as developing new treatments with fewer side effects, we must also focus on making the treatments and interventions we already have better for children and their families. 

Across the UK, we support researchers who are dedicated to making sure that children and young people will see a future where they can lead longer, healthier lives, free from the fear of cancer. 

- Michelle Mitchell is Cancer Research UK's chief executive

---