BTFC Annual Meeting and Educational Workshop on Biomarkers
Sheraton Westport Hotel
900 Westport Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63146
314-878-1500
Fax 314-434-0140
http://www.sheratonwestport.com/
October 19-22, 2008

The Brain Tumor Funders' Collaborative (BTFC) is a partnership among eight private philanthropic and advocacy organizations designed to bridge the "translational gap" that prevents promising laboratory science from yielding new medical treatments. On June 30, 2005, we announced a new, joint funding initiative: we will provide up to three $2 million multi-year grants to fund collaborative, innovative and novel approaches to brain tumor research.

The identification of successful treatments for brain cancer remains elusive, despite the dedicated and heroic efforts of researchers, clinicians, patients and families. For most patients, the tumors are lethal. The reasons for this record of failure in the development of new therapies are well recognized by the research community. The aggressive nature of human gliomas, the logistical difficulties in delivering drugs and biomolecules across the blood-brain barrier to the malignant cells, the functional uniqueness of the human brain, and the lack of ecologically valid experimental models all contribute to the lack of progress against these devastating tumors. [Read More]