brain tumor

Ballerina dancing again after inspiring recovery from brain tumor

Emily Kneussle, a 20-year-old aspiring professional ballerina, was “born a dancer.” When a tumor in her brain threatened her dreams, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt helped her get back on stage.

Michael Dewan, MD, MSCI

Study to explore why some gliomas spread like cancerous tumors

Vanderbilt’s Michael Dewan, MD, MSCI, has received a grant from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation to study why some low-grade gliomas, a type of non-cancerous brain or spine tumor, spread and behave like cancerous tumors.

Predicting brain cancer outcome

Red blood cell distribution width has prognostic value for many diseases, but it was not associated with overall survival in patients with glioblastoma, Vanderbilt researchers found.

MRI view of brain tumor prognosis

In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found.

Imaging features predict tumor grade

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered imaging features associated with increased risk for aggressive meningiomas (tumors of the brain membranes) that could help guide surgical planning and patient counseling.

Drug combos for glioblastoma

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that activation of a certain signaling pathway protects brain cancers from targeted therapies, suggesting that using therapeutics that block both pathways may be a promising treatment.