Browsing by Subject "Brain tumors"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Head-to-head: IL-21 triumphs over IL-15 in NK cell therapy for glioblastoma
    (Oxford University Press, 2025) Miller, Jake C.; Cao, Bihui; Shen, Jia; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
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    Phase II Study of Ginkgo Biloba in Irradiated Brain Tumor Patients: Effect on Cognitive Function, Quality of Life, and Mood
    (Springer, 2012) Attia, Albert; Rapp, Stephen R.; Case, L. Doug; D’Agostino, Ralph; Lesser, Glenn; Naughton, Michelle; McMullen, Kevin; Rosdhal, Robin; Shaw, Edward G.; Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine
    Ginkgo biloba has been reported to improve cognitive function in older adults and patients with Alzheimer's disease and multi-infarct dementia. We conducted an open-label phase II study of this botanical product in symptomatic irradiated brain tumor survivors. Eligibility criteria included: life expectancy ≥30 weeks, partial or whole brain radiation ≥6 months before enrollment, no imaging evidence of tumor progression in previous 3 months, or stable or decreasing steroid dose, and no brain tumor treatment planned while on study. The Ginkgo biloba dose was 120 mg/day (40 mg t.i.d.) for 24 weeks followed by a 6-week washout period. Assessments performed at baseline, 12, 24 (end of treatment), and 30 weeks (end of washout) included KPS, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain (FACT-Br), Profile of Mood States, Mini-Mental Status Exam, Trail Making Test Parts A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B), Digit Span Test, Modified Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF), California Verbal Learning Test Part II, and the F-A-S Test. Results: Of the 34 patients enrolled on study, 23 (68 %) completed 12 weeks of treatment and 19 (56 %) completed 24 weeks of treatment. There were significant improvements at 24 weeks in: executive function (TMT-B) (p = 0.007), attention/concentration (TMT-A) (p = 0.002), and non-verbal memory (ROCF-immediate/delayed recall) (p = 0.001/0.002), mood (p = 0.002), FACT-Br subscale (p = 0.001), and the FACT physical subscale (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Some improvement in quality of life and cognitive function were noted with Ginkgo biloba. However, treatment with Ginkgo biloba was associated with a high dropout rate.
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    QOL-49. Books4Brains: Piloting a Community Circle Book Club to Improve Self Expression
    (Oxford University Press, 2024-06-18) Knight, Kelsey M.; Appel, Susan; Coven, Scott L.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND: Children with brain or spinal cord tumors often have limited interactions with their primary care providers who focus on developmentally appropriate recommendations, including the assessment of literacy. Additionally, we know that children with brain or spinal cord tumors have neurocognitive disruptions secondary to their diagnosis. Due to their disease process, these children are at high-risk for learning difficulties. We want to assist in building their self-confidence and acceptance. The objective was to provide a monthly virtual experience that utilized books, creative writing, and illustration to build a community centered on trust, shared experiences, and discussions of social emotional tools. METHODS: We aimed to enroll 40 total participants diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord tumor who were followed by the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program at Riley Hospital for Children. These participants were divided amongst two groups: 1st-3rd grade and 6th-8th grade. After final enrollment, we had a total of 30 participants that received the following supplies: a copy of each months book, an audio recording of each book, and creative writing and craft supplies for each session. RESULTS: We held three monthly hour-long virtual sessions for each group on Saturday mornings. Ten total children were available to meet consistently over the two groups. Positive feedback we received included, “we loved it,” “everyone felt included in book time,” and “[it] was so helpful that the books were read out loud and it was amazing to have the read along aspect with it for her visual impairment.” We even heard from one caregiver that “[they] noticed that she has some more tools in her toolbox when she is facing a difficult day.” CONCLUSIONS: A pilot community book club is feasible through community partnerships. We plan to build on this experience by focusing on improving consistent attendance in future sessions.
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    Stereotactic Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Targeting System for Murine Brain Models
    (IEEE, 2021) Choi, Sang W.; Gerhardson, Tyler I.; Duclos, Sarah E.; Surowiec, Rachel; Scheven, Ulrich; Galban, Stefanie; Lee, Fred T., Jr.; Greve, Joan M.; Balter, James M.; Hall, Timothy L.; Xu, Zhen; Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine
    An inexpensive, accurate focused ultrasound stereotactic targeting method guided by pre-treatment MRI images for murine brain models is presented. Uncertainty of each sub-component of the stereotactic system was analyzed. The entire system was calibrated using clot phantoms. The targeting accuracy of the system was demonstrated with an in vivo mouse glioblastoma (GBM) model. The accuracy was quantified by the absolute distance difference between the prescribed and ablated points visible on the pre- and post-treatment MR images, respectively. A pre-calibration phantom study (N= 6) resulted in an error of 0.32 ± 0.31, 0.72 ± 0.16, and 1.06 ± 0.38 mm in axial, lateral, and elevational axes, respectively. A post-calibration phantom study (N= 8) demonstrated a residual error of 0.09 ± 0.01, 0.15 ± 0.09, and 0.47 ± 0.18 mm in axial, lateral, and elevational axes, respectively. The calibrated system showed significantly reduced (p<0.05) error of 0.20 ± 0.21, 0.34 ± 0.24, and 0.28 ± 0.21 mm in axial, lateral and elevational axes, respectively in the in vivo GBM tumor-bearing mice (N= 10).
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    Survivorship from pediatric and adult brain tumors: The 2024 Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium meeting report
    (Oxford University Press, 2025-05-20) Coven, Scott L.; McKean-Cowdin, Roberta; Scheurer, Michael E.; Johnson, Kimberly J.; Bauchet, Luc; Kruchko, Carol; Lau, Ching C.; Ostrom, Quinn T.; Villano, John; Yuan, Yan; Erdmann, Friederike; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    The Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium (BTEC) is an international organization with membership of individuals from the scientific community with interests related to brain tumor epidemiology, including surveillance, classification, methodology, etiology, and factors associated with morbidity and survival. The 2024 annual BTEC meeting entitled "Survivorship from Pediatric and Adult Brain Tumors" was held in Mainz, Germany, USA, on May 15-17, 2024. The meeting gathered scientists from Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America and included 4 keynote sessions focusing on brain tumor survivorship across the age spectrum. The meeting included 3 abstract sessions, which also included scientific talks around brain tumor risk factors and predicting risk and survival. We also held a brainstorming session to form a near-term research strategy around brain tumor survivorship in the epidemiology community. This report provides a summary of the meeting content.