What is the Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium (CBTTC)?
- Collaboration with the world’s best children’s hospitals
- The world’s largest pediatric brain tumor database including tissue and genomic data
- Open-access, freely available data for research
- Ground-breaking clinical trials through data-driven precision medicine
Learn more about the CBTTC:
Childhood Brain Tumors
Researchers use samples from brain tumors to learn more about them and how they work in the hopes of developing new treatments. Without donations of brain tumor specimens, the life-saving research of the CBTTC would not be possible. CBTTC member institutions collect specimens from all types of childhood brain tumors with all of the associated clinical data. These specimens are carefully shipped to the CBTTC’s Operations Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where they are then added to the biorepository core. The samples are stored at -20ºC and can be shared by researchers within the CBTTC to make scientific discoveries.
A centralized biorepository and data management platform allows researchers to finally have the critical mass of brain tumor material and genomic information needed to study the more than 100 different types of childhood brain tumors. Currently, more than 1,800 patients have donated their specimens, with over 28 different histological subtypes now found within the CBTTC’s biorepository. The CBTTC removes any identifying information from all of the collected samples to protect the identity of patient subjects.
The donation of precious brain tumor tissue allows the clinicians and researchers within the CBTTC to identify better treatments and cures for pediatric brain cancers. Through collaboration, the researchers of the CBTTC can improve treatments and identify patterns occurring across both adult and pediatric cancers.
• Brain tumors are the most common solid tumor, the most common cancer, and the most common cause of cancer death in infants and children 0-14 years. — Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS)
• More than 4,300 central nervous system tumors are diagnosed each year in children and teens. — Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS)