Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute will hold a free one-day conference for brain tumor patients, their families and caregivers on June 22 in Las Vegas.
The conference will give participants an opportunity to learn from leading surgeons, researchers, and other professionals about promising new treatments as well as methods for coping with the emotions that follow the diagnosis. During the lunch break, patients and family members will have the option to join in informal group discussions with others who have similar interests or situations.
The conference is sponsored by Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, which was founded in 1997 by renowned neurosurgeon Keith L. Black, M.D. In addition to serving as director of the Institute, Cedars-Sinai's Division of Neurosurgery and the Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, Dr. Black holds the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neuroscience.
Conducting research on many levels, Institute scientists are improving diagnosis and treatment methods as they uncover clues to the genetic and immunologic mechanisms that allow tumor cells to proliferate. By understanding these events and interactions, they hope to devise new ways to block their progress and prevent cancer cells from developing.
Dr. Black and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles and at Cedars-Sinai have made a number of discoveries about the blood-brain barrier and the blood-brain tumor barrier. Early findings led to a 1,000-fold improvement in getting cancer-killing drugs past this natural barrier and directly into brain tumors. New discoveries in this field are being published in a highly respected professional journal in June.
Institute researchers are also treating extremely aggressive tumors, gliomas, with experimental "vaccines" that appear very promising in early studies. Designed for patients who have undergone surgery for tumor removal, the vaccine helps the immune system target any remaining cancer cells.
Dr. Black will update conference participants on these and other current research programs, and give a preview of new approaches on the near horizon. He will speak at 10:30 a.m., following registration at 10.
Moise Danielpour, M.D. director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Institute, will discuss new treatments for pediatric brain tumors from 11:15 to 11:50.
After a break for lunch, which will be provided at no charge, Asha Das, M.D., will present information on the medical management of brain tumors. Dr. Das, who directs the Neurosurgical Institute's Neuro-Oncology Program, will speak from 1 to 1:35 p.m.
Dawn Eliashiv, M.D., director of Neurophysiology and Cedars-Sinai's Epilepsy Center, will discuss advances in brain mapping from 1:35 until 2:10, when Linda O'Connor, a licensed clinical social worker at the Neurosurgical Institute, will speak on stress management.
Although the presentations are scheduled to conclude at 3 p.m., O'Connor and Gigi McMillan, founder and director of WE CAN Pediatric Brain Tumor Network, will facilitate an optional Parent Support Group Meeting from 3:30 to 5.
"Current Concepts in the Treatment of Brain Tumors: A Conference for Patients, Families and Caregivers" is sponsored entirely by the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute. It is open to anyone who wishes to attend, although space is limited. Members of the American Brain Tumor Association, the Florida Brain Tumor Association, WE CAN and the Wellness Community received invitations through these organizations.
Those interested in attending may call 1-800-CEDARS-1 for information and registration. Hotel accommodations at Circus Circus Las Vegas, the conference site at 2880 Las Vegas Boulevard South, may be arranged by calling 800-444-2472.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the Western United States. For the fifth straight two-year period, Cedars-Sinai has been named Southern California's gold standard in health care in an independent survey. Cedars-Sinai is internationally renowned for its diagnostic and treatment capabilities and its broad spectrum of programs and services, as well as breakthrough in biomedical research and superlative medical education. Named one of the 100 "Most Wired" hospitals in health care in 2001, the Medical Center ranks among the top 10 non-university hospitals in the nation for its research activities.
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