Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » New Institute Targets Brain Tumor Survival
Uncategorized

New Institute Targets Brain Tumor Survival

By medwebJan 30, 2009
Share
Facebook Twitter Email

New Institute Targets Brain Tumor Survival

Dr. Jeffrey Raizer

Primary brain tumors affect nearly 20,000 Americans each year, and every year more than half die as a result. For young adults ages 30 to 39, brain tumors are the third-leading cause of death among men and the fifth-leading among women. Despite significant advances in cancer treatment, on average, adults with glioblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor, survive roughly 12 to 14 months post diagnosis.

“Currently less than one-third of adults survive five years after being diagnosed with a primary brain tumor,” said Jeffrey Raizer, MD, codirector of the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute, associate professor of neurology at the Feinberg School of Medicine and director of medical neuro-oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “Our mission is to improve patient survival through clinical and scientific research.”

The Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute is a collaboration of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. It was established to merge medical research with state-of-the-art comprehensive care to better manage and treat patients with brain tumors. In addition, the institute emphasizes therapeutic approaches that preserve quality of life while taking every measure possible to extend life.

“Brain tumor treatment is very complicated,” said James Chandler, MD, the institute’s other codirector as well as associate professor of neurological surgery at the Feinberg School and Northwestern Memorial’s surgical director of neuro-oncology. “The very therapy that may eradicate malignancies may also diminish quality of life for some patients.”

The institute’s three-pronged approach rests upon surgery, medical treatment, and clinical research. With surgery for example, advanced neuro-imaging techniques, neuro-navigation, and brain mapping makes brain tumor surgery more precise than in years past. And, through minimally invasive endoscopic skull-based procedures, brain tumors can be accessed through the patient’s nose, eliminating the need to split the face and skull.

Dr. James Chandler

With medical treatment, the neuro-oncology team provides an extensive list of cutting-edge chemotherapies offered through clinical trials. In addition, medical treatment is uniquely integrated with psychosocial therapy options like monthly support groups and a brain tumor resource center. The rapid growth of Northwestern’s clinical neuro-oncology programs has lead to the natural evolution of growth within the sciences.

“Our academic medical center does not rely solely on clinical trials developed by outside pharmaceutical companies,” said Markus Bredel, MD, assistant professor of neurological surgery at the Feinberg School and director of the Brain Tumor Institute’s research program. “We also develop a number of our clinical trials in-house based on our own findings, our collective knowledge, and medical expertise, which truly makes us unique.”

One example of this is a new initiative of the Brain Tumor Institute to collect and study all tumor specimens in order to better understand tumor biology. Known as molecular profiling, studying the biological progression of tumors will help researchers identify certain consistencies within tumors. This allows researchers to target therapies and tailor treatment regimens that are extended to patients.

Dr. Chandler noted, “Our multidisciplinary approach encompasses research, neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, and clinical programming in such a way that we hope to set forth new global standards for effectively managing the disease as well as a model of care with potential to improve outcomes and hopefully contribute to finding a cure.”

Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Lurie Cancer Center Receives Merit Extension from NCI

Oct 20, 2021

Drug Combination May Reduce Risk of Leukemia Relapse

Mar 26, 2020

Rewriting the Role of a Transcription Factor

Mar 19, 2020

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Fathers’ Presence During Childhood Predicts Adult Testosterone Levels

Jun 29, 2022

Epigenetic Biomarkers Predict CVD Risk

Jun 28, 2022

Student Spearheads Ukraine Aid Efforts

Jun 27, 2022

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20220617_NM_0434
20220617_NM_0858
20220617_NM_0643
20220617_NM_0835
20220617_NM_0544
20220617_NM_0450
20220617_NM_0790
20220617_NM_0811
20220617_NM_0851
20220617_NM_0696
20220617_NM_0779
20220617_NM_0838

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.