Rapid Molecular Central Nervous System Tumor Diagnosis

Currently, surgeons must make critical decisions about how extensively to remove tumor tissue without having complete information about the tumor type. For some tumors, survival depends on the amount of tumor resected, while for others the risk of aggressive surgical resection does not outweigh benefit of doing so. This project aims to improve the speed and accuracy of brain tumor diagnosis during pediatric neurosurgery using advanced DNA sequencing technology. By developing enhanced methods for rapid DNA analysis during surgery, we can provide surgeons with more precise diagnostic information within 60 minutes, allowing them to optimize their surgical approach. This project will focus particularly on tumor types where the extent of surgical removal significantly impacts patient outcomes. We aim to develop a new method of sequencing that improves on accuracy of diagnosis, speed, and intra operative usability than those previously developed. RNA sequencing will also be completed to identify molecular events that may allow for targeted therapy. We aim to disseminate this work in the form of a publication. Sequencing data will be given to CBTN and provide additional annotation features for prior samples that other investigators can use.