Alberto Broniscer, MD

Alberto Broniscer, MD

Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty

Departments

Oncology

Divisions

Neuro Oncology

Contact Information

Alberto Broniscer, MD
Oncology
MS 260, Room C6066
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
Email: alberto.broniscer@stjude.org
Phone: (901) 595-4925
FAX: (901) 595-5007

Education

MD - São Paulo University Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil (1989)
MS -  São Paulo University Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil (2002)


Research Interests

I have focused my clinical research on the care, management, and therapy of children, adolescents, and young adults with aggressive types of gliomas, particularly patients with high-grade glioma. Gliomas constitute the most common group of cancers in the brain and spinal cord in adults and children. Although high-grade gliomas constitute only around 10% to 15% of all central nervous system tumors in children, these tumors are very difficult to treat. High-grade gliomas can originate in any part of the brain and spine. When they originate in the brainstem these tumors are generally called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

Earlier in my career, I described the results of a multi-institutional clinical trial that used temozolomide in the treatment of children with high-grade and DIPG (SJHG-98). Since March 2005, we have been conducting a new clinical study that combined for the first time an oral, promising chemotherapy called erlotinib and irradiation (SJHG-04) in the treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults with newly diagnosed high-grade and unfavorable low-grade glioma. I have already described the Phase I component of this clinical trial, and we are currently treating a larger number of patients in the Phase II component of this study.

For patients with DIPG, we are conducting a Phase I clinical trial that combines an oral, promising new medication called vandetanib (ZD6474, Zactima) and irradiation for children with newly diagnosed DIPG. A second Phase I clinical trial which combines irradiation, vandetanib, and a second oral medication called dasatinib (Sprycel) will also be open soon

Finally, I have been directly involved in developing new protocols to better understand the biology of these very aggressive tumors in collaboration with several other investigators at our institution. We believe that by better understanding these types of cancer, we may be able to devise better ways to treat affected children. One of these studies is a new clinical trial (NBTP02) where we are conducting a very extensive analysis of the genetic make-up of tumors from children with DIPG.


Selected Publications

Broniscer A, Baker SJ, Stewart CS, Merchant TE, Laningham FH, Schaiquevich P, Kocak M, Morris EB, Endersby R, Ellison DW, Gajjar A. Phase I and Pharmacokinetic Studies of Erlotinib Administered Concurrently With Radiotherapy for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with High-Grade Glioma. Clin Cancer Res 15:701-7, 2009.

Morris B, Kasow K, Reis U, Ellison D, Broniscer A. Bone Marrow Transplantation for Severe Aplastic Anemia Secondary to Temozolomide. J Neurooncol 91:237-9, 2009.

Sanders RP, Onar A, Boyett JM, Broniscer A, Morris EB, Qaddoumi I, Armstrong GT, Boop FA, Sanford RA, Kun LE, Merchant TE, Gajjar A. M1 medulloblastoma: high risk at any age. J Neurooncol 90:351-5, 2008.

Fouladi M, Chintagumpala M, Ashley D, Kellie S, Gururangan S, Hassall T, Gronewold L, Stewart C, Wallace D, Broniscer A, Hale G, Kasow K, Merchant T, Morris B, Krasin M, Kun L, Boyett J, and Gajjar A. Amifostine Protects Against Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity in Children with Average-Risk Medulloblastoma. J Clin Oncol 26:3749-55, 2008.

Broniscer A, Laningham FH, Sanders RP, Kun LE, Ellison DW, Gajjar A. Young Age May Predict a Better Outcome for Children with Diffuse Pontine Glioma. Cancer 113-566-72, 2008.

Haas-Kogan DA, Banerjee A, Kocak M, Prados MD, Geyer JR, Fouladi M, McKnight T, Poussaint TY, Broniscer A, Blaney SM, Boyett JM, Kun LE. Phase I trial of tipifarnib in children with newly diagnosed intrinsic diffuse brainstem glioma. Neuro Oncol 10:341-7, 2008.

Helton KJ, Weeks JK, Phillips NS, Zou P, Kun LE, Khan RB, Gajjar A, Fouladi M, Broniscer A, Boop F, Li CS, Ogg RJ. Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Brainstem Tumors: Axonal Degeneration of Motor and Sensory Tracts. J Neurosurg Pediatrics 1:270-6, 2008.

Laughton SA, Merchant TE, Sklar C, Fouladi M, Broniscer A, Morris EB, Sanders R, Kun LE, Krasin MJ, Shelso J, Xiong Z, Wallace D, Gajjar A. Endocrine Outcomes for Children with Embryonal Tumors Following Risk-adapted Cranio-spinal and Conformal Site Irradiation Followed by High-dose Chemotherapy with Stem Cell Rescue. J Clin Oncol  26;1112-8, 2008.

Broniscer A, Gururangan S, MacDonald TJ, Goldman S, Packer RJ, Stewart CS, Wallace D, Danks MK, Friedman HS, Poussaint TY, Kun LE, Boyett JM, Gajjar A. Phase I Trial of Single-Dose Temozolomide and Continuous Administration of O6-Benzylguanine in Children with Brain Tumors: a Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium Report. Clin Cancer Res 13:6712-8, 2007.

Fouladi M, Laningham F, Wu J, O’Shaughnessy M, Molina K, Broniscer A, Spunt SL, Jenkins JJ, Stewart CS, Houghton PJ, Gilbertson RJ, Furman WL. Phase I Study of Everolimus (RAD001) in Pediatric Patients with Refractory Solid Tumors. J Clin Oncol 25: 4806-12, 2007.

Sanders RP, Kocak M, Burger PC, Merchant TE, Gajjar A, Broniscer A. High-grade astrocytoma in very young children. Pediatr Blood Cancer 49:888-893, 2007.

Kieran MW, Packer RJ, Onar A, Blaney SM, Phillips P, Pollack IF, Geyer JR, Gururangan S, Banerjee A, Goldman S, Turner CD, Belasco JB, Broniscer A, Zhu Y, Frank E, Kirschmeier P, Statkevich P, Yver A, Boyett JM, Kun LE. Phase I and Pharmacokinetic Study of the Oral Farnesyltransferase Inhibitor Lonafarnib (SCH66336) Given Twice Daily to Pediatric Patients with Advanced Central Nervous System Tumors Using a Modified Continuous Reassessment Method (CRM): a Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) Study. J Clin Oncol 25:3137-3143, 2007.

Morris EB, Gajjar A, Okuma JO, Yasui Y, Wallace D, Kun LE, Merchant TE, Fouladi M, Broniscer A, Robinson LL, Hudson MM. Survival and Late Mortality in Long-Term Survivors of Pediatric Central Nervous System Tumors. J Clin Oncol 25:1532-1538, 2007.

Broniscer A, Panetta JC, O’Shaughnessy M, Fraga C, Feng B, Krasin MJ, Gajjar A, Stewart CF. Plasma and Cerebrospinal Fluid Pharmacokinetics of Erlotinib and its Active Metabolite OSI-420. Clin Cancer Res 2006 13:1511-15, 2007.

Broniscer A, Baker S, West AN, Fraser MM, Proko E, Kocak M, Dalton J, Zambetti GP, Ellison DW, Kun LE, Gajjar A, Gilbertson RJ, Fuller CF. Clinical and Molecular Characteristics of Malignant Transformation of Low-Grade Glioma in Children. J Clin Oncol 25:682-689, 2007.

Gajjar A, Chintagumpala M, Ashley D, Kellie S, Kun LE, Mechant TE, Woo S, Wheeler G, Ahern V, Krasin MJ, Fouladi M, Broniscer A, Krance R, Hale GA, Stewart CF, Dauser R, Sanford RA, Fuller C, Lau C, Boyett JM, Wallace D, Gilbertson RJ. Risk-Adapted Craniospinal Radiotherapy Followed by High-Dose Chemotherapy and Stem-Cell Rescue in Children with Newly Diagnosed Medulloblastoma (St Jude Medulloblastoma-96): Long-Term Results from a Prospective, Multicentre Trial. Lancet Oncol 7:813-820, 2006.

Broniscer A, Laningham FH, Kocak M, Krasin MK, Fouladi M, Merchant TE, Kun LE, Boyett JM, Gajjar A. Intratumoral Hemorrhage Among Children with Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Brainstem Glioma. Cancer 106:1364-1371, 2006.

Broniscer A, Chintagumpala M, Fouladi M, Krasin MJ, Kocak M, Bowers DC, Iacono LC, Merchant TE, Stewart CF, Houghton PJ, Kun LE, Ledet L, Gajjar A. Temozolomide After Radiotherapy for Newly Diagnosed High-Grade Glioma and Unfavorable Low-Grade Glioma in Children. Journal of Neuro-Oncology 76:313-319, 2006.

Tekautz T, Fuller CE, Blaney S, Fouladi M, Broniscer A, Merchant TE, Krasin M, Dalton J, Hale G, Kun LE, Wallace D, Gilbertson R, Gajjar A. Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumors (ATRT):  Improved Survival in Children 3 Years of age and Older with Radiation Therapy and High-Dose Alkylator-Based Chemotherapy. J Clin Oncol 23:1491-1499, 2005.

Broniscer A, Iacono L, Chintagumpala M, Fouladi M, Wallace D, Bowers DC, Stewart C, Krasin MJ, Gajjar A. Role of Temozolomide After Radiotherapy for Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Brainstem Glioma in Children: Results of a Multi-Institutional Study (SJHG-98). Cancer 103:133-139, 2005.

Last update: June 2009

 

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