Stanford's Pioneering Biobank Speeds Pediatric Brain Cancer Treatment
A groundbreaking biobank at Stanford University School of Medicine is revolutionizing pediatric neuro-oncology. The pioneering facility, dedicated to preserving live tumor material, is accelerating the discovery and validation of personalized treatment strategies for children with brain cancers.
The biobank, established by Emon Nasajpour, MD, and colleagues, houses viable cell dissociates and tissue from 39 distinct pediatric CNS tumor entities. With over 130 patient samples, it mirrors the distribution of tumor subtypes in the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States. This extensive collection allows researchers to explore drug vulnerabilities and develop tailored therapies.
The team has already identified distinct outliers in RNA expression in a patient's pilocytic astrocytoma when compared with data from over 12,000 brain and non-brain tumor samples. Subsequent testing of these targets in patient-matched cancer models confirmed their vulnerability to specific pharmacological inhibitors, highlighting new potential drug targets. The biobank's representative platform offers opportunities for rapid translation of personalized treatment for patients with CNS tumors.
The Stanford University School of Medicine's biobank for pediatric neuro-oncology is transforming limited treatment options into opportunities for precision medicine. By preserving live tumor material and facilitating drug vulnerability identification, it is accelerating the discovery and validation of personalized treatment strategies for children with these cancers.
