Treatment of CNS and brain tumors

Brain tumors and other tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) are the second most common cancer in childhood, accounting for about 24 percent of all cases, and are also the most common group of "solid" (i.e., solid, initially spatially limited) tumors.

Finding molecular targets for medication
The KiTZ is optimally equipped to meet the needs of children and adolescents with brain tumors. In the "Pediatric Brain Tumors" section headed by Prof. Dr. Olaf Witt, we care for our patients and their families in close cooperation with colleagues from pediatric neurosurgery, pediatric neuroradiology, radiation therapy, psychooncology and neuropediatrics.

In collaboration with the Department of Pediatric Neurooncology (headed by Prof. Dr. Stefan Pfister) and the Department of Neuropathology of the Universtiy Hospital, we are able to make very precise diagnoses of brain tumors and search for "targets" (i.e. molecular target structures) for targeted therapies with the help of state-of-the-art molecular investigation methods. This is because such structures are becoming increasingly important, especially in relapse patients.

For the care of young patients, we use the state-of-the-art diagnostic and surgical facilities of Heidelberg University Hospital. These also make it possible to operate on rare or inconveniently located tumors. In collaboration with the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center for Children and Adolescents (Children's HIT), we can often offer proton therapy to our patients with brain tumors.

Research and patient care hand in hand
In order to be able to translate the latest scientific findings on the molecular causes of childhood brain tumors into targeted therapy concepts as quickly as possible, the physicians at KiTZ work hand in hand with researchers from the Department of Pediatric Neurooncolocgy and the Klinischen Clinical Cooperation Unit "Pediatrc Oncology" of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).

Prof. Dr. Till Milde, Prof. Dr. Stefan Pfister, Prof. Dr. Olaf Witt, Cornelis van Tilburg, MD, PhD
Tel.: +49 6221 - 56 37082 (Registration via the KiTZ Clinical Trial Unit)
E-mail: zipo.ambulanz(at)med.uni-heidelberg.de