Neuro-Oncology Program
Adult Brain Tumor Consortium (ABTC)
Moffitt is the only Florida-based center designated as a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Neuro Oncology program at Moffitt is an active member of the Adult Brain Tumor Consortium (ABTC ).
The ABTC is a new multi-institutional CNS consortium created from the consolidation of two previous, separate NCI-funded consortia; the New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy (NABTT) and the North American Brain Tumor Consortium (NABTC). The newly formed ABTC permits NABTT and NABTC investigators to continue their research, but focus management of their clinical programs into a single entity. The ABTC links Moffitt's Neuro Oncology program to other nationally recognized neuro oncology programs at premier institutions across the United States.
The ABTC is supported through a U01 Cooperative Agreement from the NCI. The consortium performs innovative, multidisciplinary Phase I & II clinical trials that focus predominantly on adult patients with grade IV gliomas (glioblastoma).
The objectives of the ABTC are:
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To perform multidisciplinary clinical trials using surgery, radiation and systemic therapies
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To combine targeted agents in appropriate combination regimens
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To incorporate pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic endpoints as appropriate into clinical trials testing novel agents
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To evaluate novel imaging endpoints in clinical trials
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To foster collaborations with other researchers in the field, including the NCI-funded brain tumor SPORES and Cooperative Groups
The ABTC, and especially through its predecessors NABTT and NABTC, have demonstrated that clinical trials are not only possible in this challenging tumor type, but represent the best hope for making further progress against this devastating disease.
Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) - October 2008
Moffitt's Neuro Oncology grant initiative is led by Program Leader and Principal Investigator, Steven Brem, MD, and Co-Investigators Prakash Chinnaiyan, MD, Surbhi Jain, MD, John Leavengood, MD, Edward Pan, MD, Amyn M. Rojiani, MD, PhD, Michael Yu, MD, and Frank D. Vrionis, MD, PhD. It provides a unique way to rapidly apply promising new discoveries to benefit patients with brain tumors, using Phase I & II clinical trials.
Promising new approaches for brain tumor treatment being developed include: biological inhibitors of angiogenesis and invasion, gene therapy, viral mutants, differentiating agents, immunotoxins, molecular markers, and novel methods of drug delivery and neuroimaging.