This proposal describes the role of Columbia University as a Participating Institution in a consortium whose primary long-term objective is to improve the survival of patients with primary brain tumors. The Central Nervous System Consortium is titled New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy (NABTT) and includes seven participating institutions: Brown University, Columbia University, The Cleveland Clinic, The Johns Hopkins University, The Massachusetts General Hospital, Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania. The NABTT Consortium will develop and perform Phase I and Phase II clinical evaluations of promising new agents, novel biological approaches and routes of administration in the treatment of adults with primary CNS malignancies. The Consortium members will also collaborate and share tumor specimens, clinical data, laboratory data and expertise to conduct additional research into the basic biology of brain tumors and improving the care and quality of life of individuals with brain tumors. The NABTT Consortium will rely on the expertise of the Johns Hopkins University to serve as the Consortium Headquarters and to provide organizational support, biostatistical and data analysis, quality control and study monitoring. The function of Columbia University within the Consortium will be to conduct consortium-approved protocols on twenty or more brain tumor patients per year, to participate in organizational planning for the consortium and to collaborate on other related brain tumor research projects. This proposal describes Columbia's resources and capabilities in neur-oncology which will facilitate its participation in this worthwhile cooperative agreement.
