Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center - Cleveland Clinic

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Education
Continuing Medical Education/Professional Education
Supporting Professional Education As part of our
mission to advance brain tumor treatment and research
through collaboration and education, the BTNC and the
Department of Neurosurgery coordinated and hosted
two major symposia in 2008, including the Second
International Symposium on Stereotactic Body Radiation
Therapy and Stereotactic Radiosurgery, held in February
in Orlando, Florida. The symposium featured national
and international leaders in brain-, spine- and bodytargeted
stereotactic radiation modalities and techniques.
This successful event brought together more than 150
participants who spent three days discussing advances
in the treatment of benign and malignant tumors
involving multiple organ sites. The BTNC also hosted
a dual symposium in Cleveland on pituitary disease
management for physicians and for patients in April,
attracting more than 125 participants. In November, the
BTNC was a joint sponsor with Mexican neurosurgical
and neuro-oncology societies in Los Cabos, Mexico.
The BTNC’s Gamma Knife Center, under the direction
of Dr. John Suh, continues to be a major thrust for the
BTNC. To support education, Cleveland Clinic had four
hands-on Gamma Knife radiosurgery training courses for
more than 30 people through December 2008.
Supporting Patient Education
The BTNC was a proud sponsor of the American
Brain Tumor Association’s (ABTA) regional patient
meeting in May 2008 in Chicago. Patients and their
family members, healthcare providers and volunteers
gathered to learn about various topics, from the
biology of brain tumors to choosing between standard
therapy and a clinical trial. Kathy Lupica, MSN,
BRAIN TUMOR AND NEURO-ONCOLOGY CENTER
CNP, and Mary Murphy, RN, BSN, as well as Marketing
Manager Colleen Burke, made information available
to patients. Kathy Lupica also presented a concurrent
workshop to patients titled “The Caregiver Journey.” A
monthly brain tumor support group for patients, families
and friends is facilitated by Kathy Lupica.
Fellowships
The BTNC has two neurosurgical oncology fellowship
programs. One is a two-year, combined clinical and
laboratory research fellowship program, which provides
exposure to the design and operation of clinical trials as
well as opportunities to contribute to the neuro-oncology
literature. Fellows are expected to participate in the
design, IRB application process and management
of new clinical trials during this fellowship, and to
produce clinical presentations and reports.
The second fellowship is run by the Section of Skull
Base Surgery. By combining the highly specialized
techniques of interventional neuroradiology,
otolaryngology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and
plastic surgery, the principal goal of skull base surgery
is to access deep-seated, difficult-to-reach lesions by
anatomic displacement or extensive removal of the base
of the skull. These techniques reduce or eliminate the
need for brain retraction, thereby minimizing injury to
the brain, cranial nerves and blood vessels.
Skull base surgery techniques are commonly used
to treat various lesions in or around the paranasal
sinuses and the floor of the anterior fossa, orbit,
infratemporal fossa, sella, clivus, cavernous sinus,
temporal bone/petrous apex, posterior fossa and the
foramen magnum region.