About Our Research
Integrated Neuro-oncology Research by Santosh Kesari
Malignant brain tumors account for a significant portion of solid tumors with high mortality and morbidity. Approximately 200,000 brain tumors are diagnosed in North America each year, of which 50,000 originate in the brain and 150,000 metastasize from extracranial tumors. Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor, and claims over 12,000 lives annually in the United States. Despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the prognosis remains dismal with a median survival below two years for GBM patients. Therefore, the need for better treatments and management strategies is acute. The purpose of Kesari Laboratory research program is to integrate clinical, pre-clinical and basic science to improve the understanding of brain tumor biology. By using clinical samples and a wide variety of molecular, cellular, and genetic methods we aim to:
Study the behavior and therapeutic potential of both normal and brain tumor cancer stem cells
- Find new biomarkers for cancer detection
- Develop new drug strategies for personalized treatments
- By combining laboratory and clinical data, we hope to open a new avenue toward therapies tailored to individual patients.
Tweets by @UCSDkesariBasic Science
Tumor Cells Forming Metastases in the Mouse Diaphragm
The tumor cells, stably expressing DsRed (red); adjacent blood vessels stained with FITC-dextran (green). A vertical series of image slices through the tissue (3-D volume) was acquired with a custom-built two-photon laser scanning microscope. 3-D representation was diconvoluted using
Content from the Kesari Lab website: http://kesarilab.ucsd.edu/research/Pages/default.aspx
