Mission & Scope

Basic Science

Work undertaken through the Brain Tumor Center is firmly grounded in basic studies of the fundamental properties that drive tumor development and growth. Pilot grants are awarded to investigators currently at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who are conducting basic studies in this area. We are also recruiting new investigators who have a proven interest in brain tumor biology.

Preclinical Cancer Biology

A critical step in the development of new therapies is ensuring that they produce their desired effect in animal models. A unifying component of the work must be the continuous observation of biological processes in the living body (in vivo) for translation to the clinical setting. The Brain Tumor Center is involved in the development of genetically engineered mouse models of gliomas and medulloblastomas for study by our investigators and their colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

Imaging is used to monitor tumors before, during, and after treatment to assess therapeutic response. Many kinds of non-invasive imaging methods are available to investigate tumor physiology and metabolism. These include magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and bioluminescence imaging, which can provide complementary information related to tumor detection and the monitoring of early therapeutic responses. The imaging methods selected will, in part, be based on the nature of the therapy tested and the parameter(s) to be investigated.

Translational Studies

Translational studies is the process by which research on potential new targets and therapies make the transition from animal experimental models to humans. To streamline this process, the Brain Tumor Center maintains a brain tumor and serum bank, which enables  neuro-pathologists to conduct analyses and identify predictive or diagnostic tumor markers.

The Center's investigators work with members of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP), the Memorial Hospital-based program focused on translational research.

Clinical Studies

Memorial Sloan-Kettering is a national leader in evaluating experimental compounds in clinical trials for all types of cancer, including brain tumors. These research studies test how well new medical approaches work in people, and evaluate new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment.

The goal of the Brain Tumor Center's clinical research component is to combine the efforts of laboratory and clinical investigators and develop new drugs to improve the way we prevent and treat brain tumors.

Many of these therapies are developed in the lab under the guidance of our neuro-oncologists with the express intent of testing them in clinical trials at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Many of these trials have surgical components -- i.e. the drugs are given for a week prior to surgical removal of a brain tumor -- and the effects of the drugs are measured in the tumor samples that are removed.

Visit the Brain & Spinal Cord Cancers information on our Web site for a list of current clinical trials.