Childhood Cancer and Plexiform Neurofibroma Tissue Microarray for Molecular Target Screening and Clinical Drug Development

NCT00340522 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 99990428204-C-N282
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will construct tissue microarrays (TMAs) pertaining to childhood cancer. TMA technology is a recently developed one that allows for evaluating hundreds of tissue samples simultaneously on the DNA, RNA, and protein levels. The goal is to identify a potential molecular signature. Cancer drug discovery is currently focused on identifying drugs targeted at the molecular level. Such drugs would be more selective and specific for proteins and signaling pathways that are directly involved in the origin of tumors. However, the origin of cancer among adults differs from that of cancer diagnosed in children. The overall approach by the pharmaceutical industry in developing drugs is not likely to be aimed at low-incidence cancers, such as childhood cancers. Thus, the researchers in this study propose to create a childhood cancer TMA that include specimens from a wide range of solid tumors that present a poor prognosis for patients. This TMA would in turn be used to identify antibodies and lead to developing molecularly targeted drugs that would reach clinical trials in adults. TMAs are created robotically. Small tissue cores are taken from paraffin-embedded tissue blocks and are implanted into new paraffin blocks. The recipient blocks are then processed to produce several hundred specimens that can be evaluated on a single glass slide. Specimens representing 17 distinct kinds of pediatric solid tumors will be used in this study. Also included will be samples of plexiform neurofibroma-that is, benign growths of nervous and connective tissues. Tissue specimens will come from patients who were age 25 or younger at the time of diagnosis of their cancer or plexiform neurofibroma. No procedures will be performed for the sole purpose of obtaining tissue for this study. The TMA developed in this study will not be commercialized. The results for individuals whose tumor specimens are used in the array will not be sent to patients or their treating physicians.

Conditions

Cancer

Keywords

Sarcoma; Brain Tumor; Embryonal Tumor; Tumor Array; Childhood Cancer; Plexiform Neurofibromas; Drug Screening; Immunohistochemistry

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: Up to 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Twenty representative formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens for each of 17 histologically distinct pediatric solid tumors will be collected from the pathology departments of selected Pediatric Phase I Consortium collaborators.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Cancer Institute (NCI): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Cancer Institute (NCI), 9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Mousses S, Kallioniemi A, Kauraniemi P, Elkahloun A, Kallioniemi OP. Clinical and functional target validation using tissue and cell microarrays. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2002 Feb;6(1):97-101. doi: 10.1016/s1367-5931(01)00283-6.

  PMID: 11827831 BACKGROUND

• Pollock PM, Harper UL, Hansen KS, Yudt LM, Stark M, Robbins CM, Moses TY, Hostetter G, Wagner U, Kakareka J, Salem G, Pohida T, Heenan P, Duray P, Kallioniemi O, Hayward NK, Trent JM, Meltzer PS. High frequency of BRAF mutations in nevi. Nat Genet. 2003 Jan;33(1):19-20. doi: 10.1038/ng1054. Epub 2002 Nov 25.

  PMID: 12447372 BACKGROUND

• Weeraratna AT, Becker D, Carr KM, Duray PH, Rosenblatt KP, Yang S, Chen Y, Bittner M, Strausberg RL, Riggins GJ, Wagner U, Kallioniemi OP, Trent JM, Morin PJ, Meltzer PS. Generation and analysis of melanoma SAGE libraries: SAGE advice on the melanoma transcriptome. Oncogene. 2004 Mar 18;23(12):2264-74. doi: 10.1038/sj.onc.1207337.

  PMID: 14755246 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms; Sarcoma; Brain Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal; Neurofibroma, Plexiform

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms, Connective and Soft Tissue; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Central Nervous System Neoplasms; Nervous System Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurofibroma; Nerve Sheath Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue; Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases

Study Officials

• Brigitte C Widemann, M.D.

  National Cancer Institute (NCI)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Sponsor Type: NIH

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2006
• First Posted: June 21, 2006
• Study Start: September 7, 2004
• Study Completion: August 11, 2014
• Last Updated: December 16, 2019

Record last verified: 2014-08-11

Locations

US (1)