Research

The laboratory and clinical research programs at the MGH Brain Tumor Center and Spine Tumor Clinic represent a broad, in-depth effort aimed at identifying improved treatments for all types of brain tumors.

The STC and BTC work in partnership with the MGH Molecular Neuro-Oncology Laboratory to create a remarkably strong resource for advances in the treatment of all brain and spine tumors. Scientists at the Centers seek to understand the molecular and genetic mechanisms that cause tumors to form and grow within the brain, spine and spinal cord.

• Molecular Neuro-Oncology Laboratories
• Molecular Neurosurgery Laboratories
• Research @ Neurosurgery
• Research @ Radiation Oncology
• Research @ Orthopaedic Surgery

Select Publications:

The Brian D. Silber Memorial Fund has supported the research published in the following journal articles [see Publications for the Abstracts and links to PubMed searches of current/past publications from the STC Staff]:

Chakravarti, A.; Chakladar, A.; Delaney, M.A.; Latham, D.E.; Loeffler, J.S. The epidermal growth factor receptor pathway mediates resistance to sequential administration of radiation and chemotherapy in primary human glioblastoma cells in a RAS-dependent manner. Cancer Res. 2002; 62(15):4307-4315. [download pdf reprint of publication]

Chakravarti, A.; Noll, E.; Black, P.B.; Dyson, N.J.; Loeffler, J.S. Quantitatively-determined survivin expression levels are of prognostic value in human gliomas. J Clin Oncol. 20(4):1063-1068, 2002. [download pdf reprint of publication]

Chakravarti, A.; Loeffler, J. S.; Dyson, N..J. Insulin-like growth factor receptor I (IGFRI) mediates resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy in primary human glioblastoma cells through continued activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling. Cancer Res. 62(1):200-207, 2002. [download pdf reprint of publication]

Chakravarti, A.; Delaney, M.D.; Noll, E.; Loeffler, J.S.; Black, P.B.; Dyson, N.J. Prognostic and pathologic significance of protein expression profiling in human gliomas. Clinical Cancer Research 7:2387-2395, 2001. [download pdf reprint of publication]

Henson, John W. Spinal cord gliomas. Curr Opin Neurol 2001 Dec;14(6):679-82. [download MS Word^TM version]

Henson, J.W.; Thornton,A.F.; and Louis, D.N. Spinal cord astrocytoma: Response to PCV chemotherapy. Neurology 2000 Jan 25;54(2):518-20. [download MS Word^TM version]