TUMOR RESEARCH
| oligodendroglioma (AH-lih-goh-DEN-droh-glee-OH-muh) or (OH-lih-goh-DEN-droh-glee-OH-muh) and sometimes (OH-lig-goh-DEN-droh-glii-Oh-muh)
A rare, slow-growing tumor that begins in oligodendrocytes (cells that cover and protect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). Also called oligodendroglial tumor. (National Cancer Institute's Dictionary of Cancer Terms)
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Welcome to the Oligodendroglioma Wiki
This wiki has been created in order to establish a permanent home on the web for oligodendroglioma information and resources to be stored, maintained, and accessed. If you've done a Google search on the word "oligodendroglioma" you already know how much information is out there and how overwhelming it can be to find the specific information you're looking for. You might also subscribe to support group mailing lists where a plethora of information is exchanged continuously among knowledgeable and informed participants. You might even be contributing a lot of the information you have already found to members of those groups. If so, then you realize how often new members join such groups and ask questions that have been answered repeatedly. This wiki is a place where the information contained in those answers can be posted and saved for you to refer people to the next time they ask one of those questions.
Please feel free to review the information on this page, correct it, and add to it. This is a wiki, which means that it can be changed by the people reading it. If you would like to make modifications or add new content, just click on the "Edit Page" link at the top or bottom of the page and make the changes you wish to make. I've tried to organize this site in a logical manner that makes it easy for people to find what they're looking for. You are free to modify the content of this site but if you feel the structure of the site itself could be improved, please contact me before making any of the changes yourself. I appreciate your cooperation in this effort.
Brain Tumor Websites
These websites service the entire brain tumor community, not just those affected by oligodendrogliomas. All of them do have information about oligodendrogliomas and contain lots of information relevant to living with and treating oligodendrogliomas.
National Brain Tumor Foundaton - A national non-profit serving the general brain tumor community and dedicated to promoting a cure, improving quality of life, and giving hope to the community.
American Brain Tumor Association - A not-for-profit, independent organization dedicated to funding brain tumor research in the United States and Canada.
Musella Foundation (VirtualTrials.org) - A tremendous resource for general information and specific information about clinical trials, noteworthy treatments, and healthcare providers.
Brain Tumor Society - This organization, like the others, is dedicated to a cure for brain tumors. It attempts to give the brain tumor community easy access to the resources that exist to inform and improve the quality of life for brain tumor patients.
Brain Tumor Foundation - The foundation offers support and guidance to brain tumor patients and their families. This site offers lists of many support groups and services.
T.H.E. Brain Trust - An organization focused on supporting patients and families affected by brain tumors and related conditions. There is an online support group specifically for people affected by oligodendrogliomas hosted by this site.
National Cancer Institute's Brain Tumor Page - The NCI is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Their website is a huge source of information for all types of cancer including brain tumors.
The Brain Tumor Awareness Organization - An organization dedicated to learning, advocating, sharing, supporting and raising awareness.
North American Brain Tumor Coalition - This organization is dedicated to improving the prognosis and quality of life for brain tumor patients. The coalition educates policy makers, and advocates for increased research into brain tumor treatments, causes and rehabilitation.
Articles
Editorial Note: These articles are posted in the hope that patients and caregivers will find valuable information in them that will help them to advocate for better treatment and better quality of life. Being well informed will enable patients and caregivers to make better decisions and to converse more effectively with medical professionals. There are many statistics presented by these articles that are discouraging to read. Please keep in mind that the statistics are usually based on patients who were diagnosed a decade or more ago. Similar articles written a decade from now and based on patients diagnosed today will undoubtedly present far less discouraging statistics.
Oligodendroglioma Specific
Oligodendroglioma and Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma: Clinical Features, Treatment, and Prognosis - from virtualtrials.org
Oligodendroglioma - on eMedicine from WebMD
Oligodendroglioma: clinical study and survival analysis correlated with chromosomal anomalies - An article published in the November 2005 edition of Neurosurgical Focus
Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Oligodendroglioma - A good overview of current diagnosistic and treatment approaches to oligodendroglioma.
General Information and Treatment Options
Low-Grade Gliomas in Adults - An educational article summarizing what is currently known about these tumors and their treatment.
Diagnostics
The World's Most Powerful MRI - A new machine has completed safety test at the University of Chicago.
Advanced MR Techniques in Brain Tumor Imaging - This is a rather technical article discussing advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques used on the brain. It includes discussions of perfusion imaging, spectroscopy, functional MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging. You might need to create and account on this site in order to read the entire article. It is very easy to do so and is free of cost.
18F-FDOPA PET Imaging of Brain Tumors: Comparison Study with 18F-FDG PET and Evaluation of Diagnostic Accuracy - A technical analysis comparing PET scan methods in the diagnosis of recurrent brain tumors.
Pathology
Oligodendroglioma: Impact of molecular biology on its definition, diagnosis and management - A great overview of the issues related to the classification of oligodendrogliomas and the role of molecular biology in determining those classifications.
DNA-Microarray Analysis of Brain Cancer: Molecular Classification for Therapy - A summary of the progress being made in the use of modern genetic analysis to optimize brain cancer treatment.
Histological Growth Patterns and Genotype in Oligodendroglial Tumours: Correlation with MRI Features - An interesting study of 1p and 19q chromosomal deletions and their relationship to tumor histology.
Surgery
Intraoperative MRI - Most major brain tumor centers are now equipped with this technology. Here are links to sites at two different centers that explain the advantages of this technology:
Awake Brain Surgery - Awake craniotomies are enabling surgeons to remove tumors located close to eloquent areas of the brain without causing permanent deficits.
An article about an awake craniotomy performed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - This article has a link to a video of the procedure.
Radiation
Recent Advances in Radiation Oncology - An excellent overview of various radiation therapy treatments available for brain tumor patients.
Chemotherapy
Temozolomide (Temodar®) - A drug developed by Schering Corporation that has become the standard drug of choice for treating Oligodendrogliomas. Technically, it is not indicated for this use but rather for the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme and Anaplastic Astrocytomas.
PCV - This is actually the combination three different drugs; Procarbazine, CCNU (Lomustine), and Vincristine
Nutrition
The Healing Power of a Wholesome Diet for Brain Tumor Patients - by Jeanne Wallace
Neuropsychology
How Tumors Affect the Mind, Mood, and Personality
Newsletters
Daily Tumor News Blast from VirtualTrials.org - When you subscribe to this service you'll receive emails whenever new articles are posted.
Brainlife Newsletter - Brainlife.org publishes an excellent newsletter consisting of research briefs. You can sign up for email alerts so that you're informed when new issues are available.
Books
If you decide to purchase any of the books listed below, please consider doing so via the link to Amazon.com at T.H.E. Brain Trust website. Doing this will result in some of the purchase price being donated to support that organization.
Living With a Brain Tumor; A Guide to Taking Control of Your Treatment - by Dr. Peter Black
Brain Tumors: Leaving the Garden of Eden--A Survival Guide to Diagnosis, Learning the Basics, Getting Organized, and Finding Your Medical Team - by Paul M. Zeltzer
Brain Tumors: Finding the Ark. Meeting the Challenges of Treatment Choices, Side Effects, Childrens Issues, Healthcare Costs and Long Term Survival - by Paul M. Zeltzer
Tutorials
This is an area where contributors to this wiki can create articles to help others navigate in the world of brain tumors. It is a place to share best practices and to post those answers to questions that tend to get asked repeatedly. If you would like to add an article but are not comfortable modifying this wiki, just type your article and attach it to an email. I'll take care of the rest.
Physicians
There are great resources on the web to help patients locate brain tumor centers and doctors. The doctor/hospital address book at VirtualTrials.com is a spectacular resource and should be used in addition to any information presented here. The list posted here is a list contributed by the authors of this site and consists of names and locations of doctors that are known to specialize in treating brain tumor patients and who have treated patients with oligodendrogliomas. Please feel free to add to this list if you know of a doctor who meets this criteria and who you would recommend to others.
Multimedia Presentations
These presentations may not stay posted permanently. Please contact me if you are unable to access any of these so that this page can be edited accordingly.
Expanding the Horizons: Individual Treatment for Brain Tumors - A presentation given by Dr. Rolando Del Maestro for the Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada. This is an excellent explanation of gliomas in general and has some information specific to oligodendrogliomas. There are also several other good presentations available at this site which is hosted by the Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada.
New Advances in Treatment for Brain Tumor Patients - A slide show presentation by Dr. Howard Fine and hosted by the National Brain Tumor Fountation.
Brain Tumor Surgery - A video produced by the University of Washington Medical Center, following a patient through her awake craniotomy.
Brain Tumor Centers
Once again, this is a list of brain tumor centers that the authors are aware of and would recommend. A much more comprehensive list exists at VirtualTrials.org.
Supporting Brain Tumor Research
The Oligo Brain Tumor Fund - this fund is the source of brain tumor research funding that is specifically limited to research on oligodendrogliomas.
T.H.E. Brain Trust - The brain trust sponsers support groups that are often a life line for tumor patients and caregivers. They host the only oligodendroglioma online support group I've been able to find. Please consider supporting them with a donation.
Most of brain tumor websites listed on this page accept donations that are used to support brain tumor research. There are many worthwhile organizations raising money and promoting brain tumor awareness. Anyone aware of such an organizaton is free to list a link to that organization here:
Support Groups
Oligodendroglioma Online Support Group - This group is hosted by T.H.E. Brain Trust and is dedicated spefically to people affected by oligodendrogliomas. You can join by going directly to the Facilitator Contact Form.
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