RESEARCH NETWORK
The search for a
cure
WHY THE WORK DONE BY MBI MAKES SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE
Medulloblastoma is the most common brain cancer in children and accounts for almost one-fifth of all childhood brain tumors worldwide.
However, funding for medulloblastoma research is hard to come by because childhood cancer – any type of cancer – is considered a “rare disease”, as the number of children affected is much smaller compared to the number of adults with cancer.
However, funding for medulloblastoma research is hard to come by because childhood cancer – any type of cancer – is considered a “rare disease”, as the number of children affected is much smaller compared to the number of adults with cancer.
Less research into pediatric cancer means more toxic treatments, more adverse effects, and, in some cases, little chance of survival. And that's where the MBI’s work comes in.
The only way to find a cure for medulloblastoma is to integrate the work of several laboratories, with an absolute focus on Group 4 medulloblastoma. This is the proposal of the Cure Group 4 Consortium, made possible by The Medulloblastoma Initiative, the MBI.
This type of broad, collaborative research has received very little funding to date. The laboratories of the Cure Group 4 Consortium are committed to working together, sharing data before it is even published, and accelerating the development of effective treatment protocols, with the goal of developing new therapies in a short time frame — one to two years — rather than the five to ten years that are normally expected.
In the first 6 months of work (started in 2021), the Consortium has already implemented innovative models and made new discoveries about Group 4 medulloblastoma.
And, from 2024, we will have the first clinical studies with children. Let's find the cure!
“With the right support, it will be possible to achieve a therapeutic approach much more quickly — 18 to 24 months, instead of 3 to 5 years.”
Roger J. Packer, M.D.
Director, Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Institute and Brain Tumor
Institute, Children’s National Hospital.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Roger J. Packer
Dr Roger J. Packer, creator and principal investigator of the Cure Group Four Consortium, is a world-leading expert in clinical and scientific neuro-oncology research. Dr. Packer began his research career in 1981. Since then, he has been intensely devoted to researching medulloblastoma, seeking to identify its cause and pattern of spread and find more effective treatments for medulloblastoma and other aggressive pediatric brain tumors.
Dr. Packer participated in the first study that clearly showed that adding chemotherapy to standard care was beneficial in children with medulloblastoma. This study helped increase the proportion of children who survive medulloblastoma. Now, Dr. Packer leads the Cure Group Four Consortium, which aims – based on a body of knowledge acquired over 40 years and with financial support from the MBI – to unravel the molecular and immune basis of medulloblastoma and rapidly develop a new treatment strategy. .
RESEARCH TEAM
Meet our lead
investigators
Roger J. Packer
M.D., Children’s National Hospital, Washington, D.C
Eugene Hwang
M.D., Children's
National Hospital
Robert Wechsler
Reya, Ph,
Columbia University,
New York
Duane Mitchell
M.D., Ph,
University of Florida
Michael Taylor
M.D., Ph,
Texas
Children's Hospital
Vijay Ramaswamy
M.D., Ph.D.,
SickKids,
Toronto, Canada
Yanxin Pei
Ph.D.,
Children's
National Hospital
Brian Rood
M.D.,
Children's National
Conrad Hospital
Sheila Singh
M.D., Ph,
M.D., Ph.D., McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Tobey MacDonald
M.D., Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta
Lena M. Kutscher
Ph.D.,
Heidelberg University,
Germany
Stefan Pfister
M.D.,
Heidelberg University,
Germany
Dalia Haydar
Pharm.D., Ph.D.,
Children's
National Hospital
Javad Nazarian
Ph.D.,
Children's
National Hospital
Carl Koschmann
M.D.,
University
of Michigan
Elias Sayour
M.D., PhD,
University of Florida
Craig Daniels
Ph.D., SickKids
SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS
INTEGRATING THE CONSORTIUM
External advisory board
the development of research in accordance with ethical and scientific principles and guidelines.
Ian F. Pollack, MD
UPMC Children's Hospital, Pittsburgh, USA
Scott Pomeroy, MD, PhD
Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, USA
William A. Weiss, MD, PhD
Reya, PhD, Columbia University, New York; Full Professor of Cancer Research (Evelyn & Mattie Anderson Chair) at UCSF; Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics and Neurological Surgery at UCSF; Co-chair of the Pediatric Malignant Neoplasms Service at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Making History Together
Less than 30 months after its founding, the MBI reached one of its most important objectives. It opened the door to two new FDA-approved clinical trials of potential treatments for relapsed Group 4 medulloblastoma. Both are led by investigators from the University of Florida and funded by the MBI. Each represents the first human trials of their kind.
Read all about it in the September 2024 Report
