Glioblastoma Foundation Funds Trial for Brainstem Glioblastoma

The Glioblastoma Foundation is pleased to announce the funding of a trial at Johns Hopkins Medical Center for Brainstem Glioblastoma. The goal of the study is to examine the predictive utility of imaging techniques for preoperative mapping of brain regions important for life functions in the brainstem and cerebellar regions of the brain.

Dr. Debraj Mukherjee has received a research award from the Glioblastoma Foundation to study improved non-invasive imaging techniques for brainstem and cerebellar glioblastomas! The leading-edge study will use deep learning to capture complex relationships in imaging data for patients with brainstem glioblastomas.  The research will have a transformative impact on surgical planning for glioblastomas by helping neurosurgeons perform more targeted and safe surgeries to the brainstem, thereby improving survival outcomes and overall quality of care for patients with brainstem glioblastomas.

Long term, the investigators hope to develop an automated platform for reliable brain mapping for patients with brainstem glioblastomas. To perform the studies, preoperative mapping will be linked to post-operative outcomes. The analysis will provide crucial evidence of the value of functional imaging predictions in improving outcomes in patients with brainstem glioblastomas.

Brainstem glioblastomas are among the most rare glioblastomas comprising just 1 percent of all glioblastomas. Current management of brainstem glioblastomas poses great challenges due to the important nature of normal brain matter surrounding these tumors. Neurosurgical intervention for these tumors is often difficult, with outcomes linked to extent of tumor resection. The hope of this research is to lead to improved surgical outcomes and fewer post operative deficits for patients with brainstem glioblastomas.

Congratulations to Dr. Mukherjee and his team at Johns Hopkins for their innovative strategy and focus on therapies for brainstem glioblastomas!

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