On DIPG Awareness Day, Brain Tumour Research shares how it is working to find a cure for this particularly cruel childhood form of the disease.
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) – also called brain stem glioma or diffuse midline glioma – is the deadliest form of childhood cancer, with a median overall survival rate of just eight to 12 months. It accounts for 10-20% of all brain tumours in young children and tends to occur primarily in children between five and nine years of age.
It is the type of brain tumour that Alison Phelan, the beloved niece of our Chief Executive Sue Farrington Smith MBE, was diagnosed with in August 2000. Shocked and horrified to discover how little funding went into research into brain tumours despite it being the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40, Alison’s family established Ali’s Dream, one of the founding Member Charities of Brain Tumour Research.
In a blog published today, our Director of Research, Policy and Innovation, Dr Karen Noble shares some of the shocking statistics surrounding DIPG. She explains how the work being funded by Brain Tumour Research is striving to improve treatments and outcomes, and how the charity is building capacity and has established a paediatric hub at one of our Centres of Excellence. There is also a video interview with Alexandra Hadaway (pictured), one of the bright young minds undertaking pioneering research to help us get closer to a cure.
To read our blog ‘DIPG Awareness Day – what we’re doing to find a cure’, click here.