PNOC and SJCRH Collaborative DIPG Radiogenomic Investigation

The genetic analysis and imaging of tumors is necessary for medical professionals to diagnose and treat patients with pediatric brain cancer. Most cancer patients are imaged with CT, PET or MRI because such imaging reveals that tumors are complex, often containing many distinct subregions within them. This information allows for the classification of tumors, which guides the treatment decisions of medical professionals. Researchers hope that exploring the connections between tumor imaging and genomics will facilitate improved classification of patient tumors and better outcomes. The second goal is to develop a deeper understanding of the connection between the changes and growth of tumor subregions and changes in bodily fluids collected from the same tumors, making diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment methods more accurate and effective. The Children’s Brain Tumor Network will provide researchers with the clinical, genomic, and imaging data necessary to complete this analysis across pediatric brain cancer types.