WEILL CORNELL NEUROSURGERY RESIDENT CO-AUTHORS IMPORTANT STUDY ON THE PROGRESSION OF DIFFUSE INTRINSIC PONTINE GLIOMA (DIPG)
A new study co-led by Dr. Andrew Garton, neurosurgery resident at Weill Cornell Medicine, sheds light on how a novel targeted therapy may help control tumor growth in children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), one of the deadliest pediatric brain tumors.
Published in Neuro-Oncology Advances, the research analyzed 63 DIPG patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center—half of whom received a radiolabeled antibody (omburtamab) via convection-enhanced delivery (CED) directly into the tumor. While survival rates remained similar, the CED group experienced significantly fewer recurrences in the original tumor site or surrounding brainstem regions, suggesting the approach could improve disease control in this critical area of the brain.
The study also introduces a new framework for mapping tumor recurrence patterns, offering valuable insights for future clinical trials. Senior author Dr. Mark Souweidane emphasized that these findings, even without increasing survival, represent a critical step toward refining delivery strategies.