Establishment of a Brain and Spinal Tumor Tissue Bank

• Collect, annotate, and store fresh frozen specimens of normal tissue, tumors, and pre-malignant lesions for biological investigation. [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Collect, process, and store serum, plasma and isolate lymphocytes from blood drawn from patients with Brain and Spinal Tumor [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• Establish a database to link materials acquisition, pathologic, and clinical information on patients who participate in the protocol [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• To utilize the clinical database to perform clinical and pathological correlation with the results of current and future scientific studies [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• To evaluate various NAT2, EGFR and MGMT for evidence of genomic and biochemical activation [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• To test the effect of small molecule inhibitors on the activation of wild-type and mutant NAT2, EGFR, MGMT and/or other potential molecular targets [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• To correlate tumor genotype and signaling abnormalities with clinical response to NAT2, EGFR, MGMT and/or other potential molecular targets inhibitors [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• Analysis of laboratory findings in relationship to patient demographics and clinical course [ Time Frame: 5 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and lethal primary Brain and Spinal Tumor in adults. It is nearly uniformly fatal, with a median survival of approximately one year, despite modern treatment modalities. Efforts to understand why some patients live longer or shorter than the average may provide insights into the biology of these neoplasms. For years, researchers have tried to identify independent predictors that could help in treatment planning. With the recent interest in molecular biology and molecular genetics, tumor markers are now being examined as potential predictors. A marker that could predict tumor response to therapy, the likelihood of recurrence, and survival would thus be quite useful.