Advocacy
The staff and volunteers of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) advocate for patients and their families by raising awareness of childhood brain tumors throughout the world. These efforts help alert families and the medical community to the need for early detection of brain tumors. We also work to highlight issues such as survivorship, funding for pediatric brain tumor research, pediatric palliative care, pediatric oncology, drug development and the empowerment of patient families.
To promote the development of the neuro-oncology field, the PBTF funds national and international brain tumor conferences, as well as the prestigious Society of Neuro-Oncology. We provided founding grants for the society’s international medical journal Neuro Oncology and the founding grant that established the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the U.S., the country’s largest brain tumor database.
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PBTF, in partnership with the National Cancer Institute, provided support for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium and co-funded a workshop with the National Cancer Institute on a new treatment protocol for Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid tumors. Additionally the PBTF has supported a conference on "Late Effects of Radiology Treatments for Brain Tumors through the Life Span - Child to Adult." PBTF established the Peter Steck Memorial Award and Lecture at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1991 in memory of Peter Steck, Ph.D., who discovered the P10 gene with funding assistance from the PBTF. This award recognizes research excellence and encourages young research scientists.
The PBTF joins other advocacy organizations in support of all children with cancer through our participation in the Alliance for Childhood Cancer as well as the National Cancer Institute Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities. Additionally the PBTF is involved in patient advocacy for all brain tumor patients through our participation in the National Cancer institute-funded Specialized Programs of Research Excellences, SPOREs, a program that funds institutional research in specific types of cancer to translate basic research into clinical trials.
