The Massachusetts General Hospital will join the Consortium, New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy (NABTT), endorse its Constitution, participate by performance or Chair responsibilities on key Committees, and give unique priority to Consortium protocols and scientific collaboration with members of the Consortium: 1) The 12 member multidisciplinary MGH Neuro-oncology staff will provide annually to Phase I and Phase II studies of new chemotherapy agents at least 35 patients with either newly diagnosed or recurrent malignant glioma. 2) Dr. Hochberg, as Chair of the Morbidity and Toxicity Committee, will provide administrative and neurologic assistance to the Consortium for the inclusion of neurologic, morbidity and toxicity endpoints in each of the protocols. He will pilot the Consortium's use of MGH measures of neurologic impairment, quality of life, and global and site-specific neuropsychologic impairment designed to distinguish the effects of therapy from the direct effects of the tumor. 3) Dr. Hedley-Whyte, as Chair of the Neuropathology Committee, will aid the Consortium in its secondary objective to share human brain tumor specimens (for neuropathologic and Molecular neuro-pathologic studies), tissue samples (for pharmacologic evaluations) and clinical data (for the assessment of response and toxicities of brain and other organs). 4) Molecular Studies of tumor specimens will determine the prognostic significance of loss of heterozygosity of putative tumor suppressor genes and altered expression of growth factor related oncogenes. 5) MGH neuro-oncology will contribute to anti-angiogenesis studies by evaluation of altered vascular supply using in-vivo PET scanning (blood flow, oxygen utilization and glucose uptake) and echo planar MRI (Cerebral Blood Volume). 6) The MGH Molecular Neuro-oncology Laboratory will provide innovative retrovirus mediated gene therapy protocols for treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma. 7) Innovation in chemotherapy and viral vector therapies for tumors other than malignant glioma (primary brain lymphoma and mixed oligoastrocytoma) will be produced.
