Register Now for the ABTA’s Free Webinar
“Understanding Brain Tumors,” part of the ABTA’s educational webinar series, will be held on Thursday, September 27 at 11 a.m. CDT. This webinar, which will explore tumor types, symptoms and risk factors, is presented by Timothy Cloughesy, M.D., director, UCLA Neuro-Oncology & clinical professor at The Ronald Reagan Hospital at UCLA Medical Center. Click here to register. 

Comprehensive Brain Tumor Publication Now Available
Our newly revised publication, About Brain Tumors: A Primer for Patients and Caregivers, is now available for download, along with all of our single topic publications, on www.abta.org. About Brain Tumors is an introduction to brain tumors, including tumor facts and statistics; an overview of the brain, tumor types; information on seizures; coping as a patient, caregiver or family member; and much more, including a section on pediatric brain tumors. Download About Brain Tumors here.

ABTA Now Accepting Letters of Intent for Discovery Grants
The ABTA’s Discovery Grants are one-year, $50,000 grants awarded to high-risk, high-impact projects deemed to have the potential to change current diagnostic or treatment paradigms for adult and pediatric brain tumor care. Investigators from sciences outside traditional biology fields encouraged to apply. Letters of Intent (LOI) are due October 10, 2012. Click here for LOI instructions.

Make Connections® Online
Looking for support from people who understand what you’re going through, but need it to fit into your schedule? The ABTA’s Connections online community is a resource for brain tumor patients and caregivers to support each other. Our community is growing.  Be the 1,000^th member and receive a special ABTA gift bag. Click here to learn more and sign up.
 

Breakthrough in New York City
Spend an incredible weekend in New York City and take part in the ABTA Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5K Run/Walk on Sat., Nov. 10 at Hudson River Park’s Pier 84. Visit www.breakthroughforbraintumors.org to register and learn all about this amazing event.

Move Further with Team Breakthrough in 2013
The ABTA’s endurance team, Team Breakthrough, has announced its schedule of nationwide events for 2013 – including full and half marathons, as well as a triathlon. Visit www.abtateambreakthrough.org to see the full list of events.

Defining “Complications” In Pediatric Neurosurgery
Short-term surgical outcomes are routinely used to show improvements over time or to determine the impact of different therapies on patient outcomes. However, criteria for measuring adult outcomes may not correlate to pediatric outcomes. To help improve medical care and to ensure that researchers use the same terms in defining “outcomes,” Canadian researchers developed standardized definitions of surgical complications and surgical outcomes for pediatric neurosurgery (Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, August 2012). Via group consensus, 41 definitions and 13 grading scales have been created. To read more click here.

Predicting Outcomes for Glioblastoma
An article appearing in the Journal of Neurosurgery, September 2012, explores the possible role of a protein called “neurofilament protein” (NFP) in predicting outcomes for primary glioblastomas. Researchers in France analyzed tissue from 302 newly-diagnosed adult primary supratentorial glioblastoma tumors and recorded each patient’s imaging, treatment and clinical data. About 58% of the tumors tested positive for the presence of NFP, and it appeared this subgroup did somewhat better than patients with NFP-negative tumors. The researchers concluded that NFP expression may help identify a distinct subgroup of glioblastoma with a more favorable prognosis, which may be a consideration in planning future therapies. Click here to read the abstract.

Physician Reluctance to Discuss Poor Prognosis
There are several reasons – and misbeliefs – surrounding physician hesitance to discuss prognosis with their patients. A commentary appearing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, August 2012, explores perceptions of the emotional impact of sharing a poor prognosis, the maintenance of hope, cultural sensitivities about prognosis, the involvement of hospice and palliative care, and the emotional impact on physicians themselves. The article dispels several common beliefs, and suggests resources for facilitating these conversations. Access the entire article here.

Radiosurgery for Subtotally Resected Adult Pineocytomas

 
Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) was the first national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to brain tumor research. For nearly 40 years, the ABTA has been providing comprehensive resources that support the complex needs of brain tumor patients and caregivers, as well as the critical funding of research in the pursuit of breakthroughs in brain tumor diagnosis, treatment and care.

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This information is provided by the American Brain Tumor Association, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 550, Chicago, IL 60631. For more information about the American Brain Tumor Association, call toll-free 866-659-1030, write info@abta.org or visit www.abta.org.

"American Brain Tumor Association" and "TrialConnect" are registered trademarks of the American Brain Tumor Association. The ABTA logo, the "Breakthrough for Brain Tumors" name and logo, and the "Team Breakthrough" name and logo are trademarks of the American Brain Tumor Association. All rights reserved.

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