Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center - Cleveland Clinic
Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center - Cleveland Clinic
Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center - Cleveland Clinic
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2008 ANNUAL REPORT<br />
<strong>Brain</strong> <strong>Tumor</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Neuro</strong>-<strong>Oncology</strong> <strong>Center</strong> – Overview<br />
A Team Approach to Individualized Care<br />
Clevel<strong>and</strong> <strong>Clinic</strong> <strong>Brain</strong> <strong>Tumor</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Neuro</strong>-<strong>Oncology</strong><br />
<strong>Center</strong> (BTNC) is a national leader in the diagnosis,<br />
treatment <strong>and</strong> research of brain tumors. The unique<br />
administrative structure of the BTNC allows our<br />
multidisciplinary team of physicians <strong>and</strong> scientists to<br />
focus almost exclusively on brain tumors, facilitating<br />
opportunities for our staff to participate in international<br />
research protocols, share information about the latest<br />
developments in the field <strong>and</strong> combine therapeutic<br />
approaches from a number of disciplines. The result is<br />
the ability to bring the most promising new treatments<br />
to the clinical realm in an environment that facilitates<br />
individualized patient care.<br />
The BTNC has been a member of the prestigious<br />
New Approaches to <strong>Brain</strong> <strong>Tumor</strong> Therapy (NABTT)<br />
consortium for more than seven years. The primary<br />
objective of the National Cancer Institute-sponsored<br />
NABTT consortium is to improve the therapeutic<br />
outcome for adults with primary brain tumors while<br />
sharing human brain tumor specimens <strong>and</strong> clinical<br />
<strong>and</strong> laboratory data to facilitate additional research<br />
pertaining to basic biology <strong>and</strong> neuro-pharmacology<br />
of new treatments. To qualify for NABTT membership,<br />
an institution must possess strong clinical <strong>and</strong> research<br />
programs for adult brain tumors, expert multidisciplinary<br />
clinical teams, extensive laboratory <strong>and</strong> clinical<br />
resources, <strong>and</strong> the ability to conduct high-quality,<br />
clinically relevant trials. In 2008, we were honored<br />
to be selected as a charter member of the new Adult<br />
<strong>Brain</strong> <strong>Tumor</strong> Consortium, which supersedes the NABTT<br />
consortium in 2009.<br />
Building on the strong tradition of excellence <strong>and</strong><br />
innovation established by members of the BTNC team,<br />
the future of clinical application <strong>and</strong> ongoing research<br />
at Clevel<strong>and</strong> <strong>Clinic</strong> is both bright <strong>and</strong> exciting. We<br />
aim to streamline the process of bringing potentially<br />
groundbreaking therapeutic agents from the laboratory<br />
to the patient, making new chemotherapeutic agents,<br />
radiosurgical techniques <strong>and</strong> surgical procedures<br />
available more quickly, while maintaining the highest<br />
scientific st<strong>and</strong>ards for both efficacy <strong>and</strong> safety.<br />
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