IMPORTANT UPDATES

Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) Names Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center It's Newest Member


ATLANTA (April 07, 2017) – The Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Program at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has been selected as one of 11 collaborative institutions in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC), a highly-selective National Cancer Institute (NCI) cooperative group specializing in improving the treatment of brain tumors through novel trials for children with brain cancer.

“We are honored to join the PBTC as a new southeast regional site, hoping that our leadership, infrastructure and expertise in early phase clinical trials will benefit the collaboration of the group,” says Tobey MacDonald, MD, Director of the Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Program at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Emory University School of Medicine. “We hope that this gives our patients and families at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center confidence that they have access to the most promising therapies available in the United States, right here in Atlanta.”

A multidisciplinary research organization devoted to the study of correlative tumor biology and new therapies for pediatric brain cancer, PBTC's mission is to contribute rapidly and effectively to the understanding and cure of these tumors through the conduct of multi-center, multidisciplinary, innovative studies with designs and analyses based on uniformly high quality statistical science.

“The selection of our center for PBTC membership is a testament to our increased presence in the development and conduct of innovative clinical trials in pediatric neuro-oncology,” said Cynthia Wetmore, MD, PhD, Director of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Emory University School of Medicine. “Our team is committed to developing new techniques, treatment and cures for children and young adults with brain tumors. Through our collaboration with the PBTC, we will have a forum to expand our ideas and strategies and make them available nationally. We look forward to sharing these laboratory and clinical science discoveries, in order to identify superior treatment strategies for children who need them across the country.”

The group includes Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Texas Children’s Cancer Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Children’s National Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Colorado.

The Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Program at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is the largest pediatric neuro-oncology center in the Southeast and a leading U.S. site for pediatric oncology, with more than 450 new childhood cancer diagnoses each year. U.S. News & World Report ranked the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in the top 10 for pediatric cancer in 2016.

Children’s is part of the Atlanta-based Pediatric Research Alliance with Emory University, Winship Cancer Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology.

For more information:

Allyson Wright

Public Relations, Manager

404-785-7253

Allyson.Wright2@choa.org

About The Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s

The Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is a national leader among childhood cancer, hematology, and blood and marrow transplant programs, serving children and young adults. Recognized as one of the top childhood cancer centers in the country by U.S. News & World Report, the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center cares for more than 500 newly diagnosed cancer patients and treats nearly 2,000 unique sickle cell disease patients each year. Our program offers patients access to more than 380 clinical trials, including 28 innovative Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center investigator-initiated trials. Visit choa.org/cancer for more information.


Emory University School of Medicine

Emory University School of Medicine is a leading institution with the highest standards in education, biomedical research and patient care, with a commitment to recruiting and developing a diverse group of students and innovative leaders. Emory University has 2,555 full- and part-time faculty, 562 students, 1,238 residents and fellows in 100 accredited programs, and 91 MD/PhD students in one of 45 National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Programs. Faculty in five allied health programs train 524 students. Medical school faculty received $348 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2016. The school is best known for its research and treatment in infectious disease, neurosciences, heart disease, cancer, transplantation, orthopedics, pediatrics, renal disease, ophthalmology and geriatrics.

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