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Explore our cutting edge research, world-class patient care, career opportunities and more.
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Providing biostatistical guidance for pediatric brain tumor research and clinical trial development
The complex nature of pediatric brain tumors presents a variety of challenges for researchers. Research for pediatric brain tumors, especially in the clinical trial arena, must address these complexities. To assist in this area, the goal of our group is to provide biostatistical support for pre-clinical and translational studies as well as interventional brain tumor clinical trials. We work with our St. Jude colleagues to collaboratively develop trial concepts, statistical plans, databases, and methods that ensure patient safety and assess treatment efficacy in these trials.
Our group collaborates with investigators providing biostatistical expertise on the entire spectrum of interventional brain tumor clinical trials at St. Jude, from phase 0 through phase III randomized studies. We have a robust collaboration with colleagues in the Neurobiology & Brain Tumor Program, where we support pre-clinical and post-trial work at the institution.
We support the pediatric brain tumor program at St. Jude in all its stages, including the determination of sample size for each patient cohort based on the specific questions of a study. We assist in crafting the trial concept and developing the statistical plans for the primary, secondary, and exploratory objectives for each brain tumor protocol and then build appropriate and efficient databases with colleagues in Information Technology and Statistical Computing.
Once a trial is underway, our group plays an integral role in patient safety by monitoring studies in real time to identify any events that would trigger adjustments to a study medication, and we conduct interim analyses that may point to a study’s potential early efficacy or futility. In addition to brain tumor clinical trials developed and conducted at St. Jude, the team supports efforts within the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) and the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).
From a methodological perspective, our group optimized trial designs for rare tumors by adapting statistical methodologies in innovative ways, including using real world data. The challenge in this undertaking, in addition to the rarity of pediatric cancer, is the subtypes and subclasses of these tumors that may respond differently to treatment, and the potential toxicities that may impact patients differently at various stages of childhood and adulthood. In this work, as in all our other efforts, we are guided by our desire to assist in the development of clinical trials that advance treatment and cures for children.
Dr. Arzu Onar-Thomas earned her Master of Science and PhD in statistics from the University of South Carolina. As a Member of the St. Jude Faculty in the Department of Biostatistics, Dr. Onar-Thomas leads a group in methodologic and applied biostatistical work that serves as a foundation for clinical trial operations at St. Jude. She is also a collaborative partner with the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, co-Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, and the Lead Faculty Statistician of the Children’s Oncology Group - Central Nervous System Committee. Dr. Onar-Thomas is also a key contributor to numerous external committees.
The Onar-Thomas group is a team of biostatisticians and operationalists who conduct methodological and applied statistical work to advance clinical trial operations at St. Jude.
Arzu Onar-Thomas, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Department of Biostatistics
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital