BRAIN TUMOR PROGRAM PRECISION PRE-OPERATIVE & INTRA-OPERATIVE
BRAIN MAPPING rior to the brain surgery, our patients undergo a 3D MRI in order to allow for pre-operative and intra-operative brain mapping. For tumors near language areas, patients also undergo functional MRI (fMRI) scans, where they perform tasks such as reading, thinking, spelling and talking, which enables us to image these functional control centers of the brain. Those fMRI scans and the 3D MR images with white matter tractography are
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carefully processed to be used in surgery to physically map the control centers on the brain as the neurosurgeon removes the brain tumor. For tumors very close to functional language areas, the “asleep, awake, asleep” technique was perfected by anesthesiologists at UCLA, to allow neurosurgeons to wake patients during surgery and test vital functions such as talking or moving, while they remove the tumor. Patients are then put back to sleep for the nonmapping portion of the surgery.
History of Firsts First in-human use of a dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer vaccine for brain tumor patients [now known as DCVax]. First in-human use of a replicating retroviral vector (RRV) for gene therapy for malignant gliomas [now known as Toca-511TM]. First in-human use of combination therapy of DC vaccine with novel toll-like receptor (TLR-7) agonist, resiquimod. First to develop cDNA microarray gene expression-based classification of glial tumors. First to identify molecular genetic subgroup of glioblastoma that may be predictive of response to immunotherapy.
1ST
5,000
3,000
30
TO DEVELOP PERSONALIZED BRAIN CANCER VACCINE
BANKED SAMPLES OF HUMAN TUMORS, BLOOD, AND CSF
BRAIN TUMOR SURGERIES PERFORMED
DIFFERENT TYPES OF BRAIN TUMORS TREATED
First intra-operative awake mapping of music comprehension/ production areas in the brain. First to use high-field intraoperative iMRI in the West Coast.
INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM Linda M. Liau, MD, PhD PROGRAM DIRECTOR Neil A. Martin, MD, Marvin Bergsneider, MD, Bob Shafa, MD, Isaac Yang, MD, Robert M. Prins, PhD, Carol A. Kruse, PhD, Emma Billingslea-Yoon, NP
Michael Selch, MD, Tania Kaprealian, MD
NEUROSURGERY
STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY
Whitney Pope, MD
Timothy F. Cloughesy, MD, Albert Lai, MD, Leia Nghiemphu, MD
NEURORADIOLOGY
Clinical Success
RADIATION ONCOLOGY
Nader Pouratian, MD, PhD
Jennifer Sugioka was the fifth glioblastoma patient to receive the DCVax vaccine and this year celebrates 13 years cancer free.
NEURO-ONCOLOGY
TUMORS TREATED Gliomas Astrocytomas Brainstem gliomas Ependymomas Gangliogliomas Glioblastomas Medulloblastomas Mixed gliomas Oligodendrogliomas Optic nerve gliomas
Metastatic Cancer Brain cysts Brain metastasis Choroid plexus papillomas CNS lymphoma Cystic tumors Dermoid tumors Germinomas Lymphoma Pineal tumors
UCLA NEUROSURGERY: INTO THE BRAIN AND BEYOND
Skull Base Tumors Acoustic neuroma Adenomas Chordomas Craniopharyngiomas Epidermoid tumors Meningiomas Pituitary tumors Rathke’s cleft cyst
Spinal Cord Tumors Astrocytomas Ependymomas Meningiomas Schwannomas
(L TO R): DCVAX PATIENT, JENNIFER SUGIOKA & BRAIN TUMOR PROGRAM DIRECTOR, DR. LINDA M. LIAU AT THE 2011 UCLA VISIONARY BALL.
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