Synopsis

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumour of childhood. Despite multidisciplinary therapies offered by neurosurgery, radiation oncology and paediatric oncology through cooperative group clinical trials, there are significant late effects of therapy, including but not limited to neuroendocrine deficits, neurocognitive impairment and second malignant neoplasms. Furthermore, prognosis after relapse is very poor. However, recent advances in the molecular genetic diagnosis and tumour classification as well as delivery of precision radiation therapy using proton beams allow the neuro-oncology team to personalize therapy as well as consider novel treatments that may ameliorate the late effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

Speaker

Professor David Eisenstat joined The Royal Children’s Hospital as the Director of the Children’s Cancer Centre in November 2020. He has also joined the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute as a Group Leader in Cancer and Neuro-Oncology, and is an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne.

From 2017 to 2020, Dr Eisenstat was Professor and Chair of the Department of Oncology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada with cross-appointments in the Departments of Medical Genetics and Paediatrics. He held the endowed Muriel and Ada Hole Kids with Cancer Society Chair in Paediatric Oncology from 2011 to 2020. David is the Specialty Chief Editor, Section of Neuro-Oncology & Neurosurgical Oncology for both Frontiers in Oncology and Frontiers in Neurology and serves on the editorial boards for Neuro-Oncology, Neuro-Oncology Practice, and Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. David was the Scientific Chair of four Canadian Neuro-Oncology meetings and co-chair of the Society for Neuro-Oncology Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Basic and Translational Research Conference in San Diego in 2015.