One of the most promising areas for innovative discovery is in the neuropathology of pediatric brain tumors. Two researchers leading the way are Dr. Peter Burger and Dr. Charles Eberhart who are committed to helping children with pilocytic and pilomyxoid brain tumors. Pilocytic astrocytomas are low grade tumors generally occurring in children. Pilomyxoid astrocytomas, with related appearance, are a more aggressive tumor type. Little is known about the genetic alterations that differentiate pilomyxoid from pilocytic astrocytomas, or what causes any of these tumors to form.
In order to identify the molecular changes in these tumors, Drs. Burger and Eberhart are conducting The Pilocytic/Pilomyxoid Research Study. This study will seek to collect and analyze a group of these uncommon tumors in order to identify molecular diagnostic markers and more effective treatments. They will then compare normal brain tissue from several regions (cerebellum, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus) with pilocytic and pilomyxoid astrocytomas at three levels:

1. DNA/chromosomal alterations

2. RNA expression

3. Signaling pathway protein activity

By doing so, they hope to identify genes and pathways aberrantly regulated in these tumors, which may indicate how they are formed initially, and what signaling cascades are required for their continued growth. Some of these alterations may also represent useful diagnostic markers that will simpligy the classification of pilocytic and pilomyxoid tumors.

The aims of the study are as follows:

Aim 1 - Use comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) to identify chromosomal alterations in pilocytic and pilomyxoid astrocytomas.

Aim 2 - Profile gene expressions in pilocytic and pilomyxoid astrocytomas as compared to normal brain.

Aim 3 - Use phosho-specific antibodies to analyze activity of specific signaling pathways in pilocytic and pilomyxoid astrocytomas.

Dr. Peter C. Burger obtained his undergraduate degree from Oberlin College in Ohio and his medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. After completing his residency in Pathology and a fellowship in Neuropathology at Duke University Medical Center, he joined the faculty at Duke and served as Director of Neuropathology from 1984 to 1993. In 1993, he joined the Johns Hopkins Medicine faculty as professor of Pathology, Oncology and Neurosurgery. Dr. Burger is recognized internationally as an expert in Neuropathology and is renowned for his diagnostic skills in identifying brain tumors. He lectures worldwide, and serves as a consultant to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles and numerous book chapters, and is co-author of “Surgical Pathology of the Nervous System and Its Coverings,” the leading textbook of surgical neuropathology. Dr. Burger is active in numerous professional societies and advisory boards, and in 1997, was awarded the Farber Award for research in neuro-oncology by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Charles Eberhart obtained his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin where he was elected into Phi Beta Kappa. He spent one year at the Max Planck Institute in Munich for his graduate studies prior to completing his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. In 1999,
Dr. Eberhart came to Johns Hopkins Medicine to complete a residency in anatomical pathology, and a fellowship in neuropathology prior to joining the faculty in 2001 as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Neuropathology. Dr. Eberhart works as both a diagnostic neuropathologist and a scientist studying how childhood brain tumors can be better classified and treated. He has helped Dr. Burger describe several new pediatric brain tumor variants. He also directs a research laboratory focused on understanding the molecular genetics and pathobiology of pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Eberhart has published 34 research articles, and is a member of numerous neuropathology and neuro-oncology organizations, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. He has received multiple awards and honors, including Merck and March of Dimes Graduate Fellowships, a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for Physicians, and Career Awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the National Institutes of Health.