Pursuing New Therapies Through Research
Physicians and researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center participate in numerous clinical research projects in hopes of improving the prognosis and quality of life for patients with brain and spinal tumors.
Some of these studies are sponsored by physicians and researchers at Cincinnati Children’s. Many others are offered at our site through national institutions such as the National Cancer Institute, Children’s Oncology Group, and the Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network. Participation in these consortiums provides patients with early access to new anti-cancer therapies.
Current clinical research projects focus on:
- Novel chemotherapy combinations for patients with relapsed or refractory (treatment-resistant) tumors
- Anti-angiogenic (tumor blood vessel-targeted) therapy regimens
- Targeted small molecule anticancer drugs
- High-dose therapy regimens with blood and marrow transplantation
- Viral therapy
- Quality of life issues following treatment
One clinical research study of note is a Cincinnati Children’s-based pilot study for patients with newly diagnosed, high-grade gliomas and diffuse intrinsic brain stem gliomas. This study incorporates standard therapy with a promising anti-angiogenic agent that is designed to prevent blood vessel growth in order to stop the tumor from growing. The study also is asking several important questions regarding the biology of these tumors and the quality of life and functional outcomes of these patients.
