Seven Bridges said on Tuesday that it has joined an international alliance that aims to link genomic cancer datasets from The Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center (Kids First DRC), Zero Childhood Cancer (Zero), the Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium (CBTTC). According to Seven Bridges, the partners aim to build a computation infrastructure that will harmonize data from Zero, an Australian initiative using genomics to personalize treatments for pediatric cancers, with the genomic datasets of CBTTC and Kids First DRC. The effort is expected to help improve researchers’ understanding of rare pediatric brain cancer subtypes.

Like so many of us during the month of September, I’ve come to regard Childhood Cancer Awareness Month as a time to take stock and reflect -- on the bravery and strength of the children and families I’ve encountered in my clinical practice, and on the progress still to be made in the struggle against childhood brain cancer.

As we continue onward, the CBTTC has officially transitioned to a new phase in our efforts on behalf of childhood brain tumor patients everywhere. Now, as the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) we will further grow our partnerships and research efforts to CURE pediatric brain tumors through innovation, resource sharing, a commitment to global inclusion, and, most critically, through the translation of data into new clinical trials and increased clinical impact.

Comprehensive “proteogenomic” analysis of the proteins, genes, and RNA transcription involved in pediatric brain tumors could help physicians more accurately identify different types of tumors and methods for treating them.

Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) investigators from nearly all of our 25 member sites will join this global community of experts in childhood brain cancer to engage in the sharing of research and new perspectives. In addition, CBTN will give several presentations and abstracts to share our research methodology and recent discoveries.

The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) announced an award of $1.75 million from the Swifty Foundation to accelerate pediatric brain tumor research around the globe.

We recently spoke with Dr. Chad Creighton, Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of Cancer Bioinformatics at Baylor College of Medicine, whose team utilized DNA and RNA data from hundreds of study participants within the PBTA for a major study on how Somatic Structural Variation within gene copying may drive the development of cancer cells within a child’s brain.

CBTN is working to grow its partnerships across academic, research, patient/foundation, government, and commercial spaces, with a goal of ensuring that these partners each have a clear sense of how they can advance and support the Network’s ambitious mission.

Recently, Dr. Eric B. Durbin delivered a presentation at the CBTN Investigator Meeting on his work studying cancer in Kentucky and the establishment of Kentucky ACCELERATE, a consortium that highlights how access to CBTN resources and collaborators can be transformational in expanding localized cancer research.

Oligodendroglioma is a rare form of primary malignant brain and central nervous system (CNS) cancer diagnosed in roughly 1,500 people in the United States each year. Because of its rarity, access to high-quality biospecimens and molecular data can be scarce. This has made oligodendroglioma a particularly difficult form of brain cancer for scientists to study However, CBTN has struck a unique partnership between public agencies, patient foundations, and research institutions to forge a new model for research, marking a new era in therapeutic development.