Neuro-oncology

Patient Population
Neuro-oncology bridges two priority programs at University Health Network: Neuroscience and Oncology. Its multi-disciplinary membership encompasses clinicians, basic and clinician-scientists, nurses, nurse-clinicians and other support personnel, working at all three sites of UHN. We care for 200 patients with newly diagnosed primary nervous system tumours (NST), and 1,000 with secondary nervous system tumours each year. We are a national/international referral center for patients with NST and neuro complications of malignancy.

Education
The neuro-oncology group at UHN is involved in a variety of teaching activities directed toward caregivers and patients/family with NST. Post graduate medical trainees and fellowship trainees in neurosurgery, neurology, Ear, Nose and Throat, neuropathology, internal medicine, medical and radiation oncology undertake advanced clinical training in the specialty of neuro-oncology.

Program members are active participants in city wide neuro-oncology rounds, which integrate clinical and research neuro-oncology activities. Several basic science laboratories serve as venues for the training of basic and clinician-scientists in neuro-oncology.

Research
Four themes have been identified for UHN research in neuro-oncolgy, including:

A. The development of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for the management of NST

B. The understanding of clinical applications of novel radiatiotherapies and the radiobiology of NST

C. The understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of human brain tumors leading to relevant biological therapies in pre-clinical models

D. The development of a detailed clinical epidemiological molecular data base for patients with NST