Patrick Wen, Director, Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Patrick Y Wen, MD is Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Center for Neuro-Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Dr Wen serves as Co-PI of the National Cancer Institute supported Adult Brain Tumor Consortium, and member of the Steering Committee of the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) Working Group. He graduated from the Medical College of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, University of London, and completed his Internal Medicine training at University of London postgraduate hospitals, and Neurology residency through the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Training Program. His research focuses on novel treatments of brain tumors, especially targeted molecular agents. Dr Wen has authored or co-authored hundreds of peer-reviewed articles that have been published in journals such as Neurology, Neuro-Oncology, Current Opinion in Neurology, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. He serves as President of the Society For Neuro-Oncology and SNO Executive Editor of Neuro-Oncology.

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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 450 Brookline Avenue Shields Warren 430 D Boston, MA 02215

Appointments: 617-632-2166

Office Phone Number: 617-632-2166

Novel Therapies For Adult Brain Tumors

The primary goal of our multidisciplinary group of investigators is to find more effective treatments for patients with brain tumors. Our program is especially interested in the development of novel targeted molecular therapies. We currently have a large number of clinical trials of these agents in progress. Recently we also started trials of combinations of targeted molecular agents, which are likely to be more effective than treatment with single agents alone. As part of these trials, we are also genotyping the tumors and correlating them with response to treatment in the hope of identifying subgroups of patients who are particularly likely to benefit. In addition, we are conducting clinical trials evaluating novel inhibitors of angiogenesis, chemotherapy combinations, intratumoral agents delivered by convection, and tumor vaccines. A second focus of our program is the development of novel therapies for meningiomas, brain metastases, and leptomeningeal metastases; clinical studies evaluating targeted molecular agents and novel chemotherapeutic agents against these cancers are under way. We also collaborate with colleagues in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology and the Department of Cancer Biology in a preclinical program directed at identifying novel targets for therapy and evaluating new agents for clinical trials.In addition, our program has a strong interest in quality-of-life issues affecting patients with brain tumors, in particular, venous thromboembolic disease. We are currently studying the molecular basis of venous thromboembolism and evaluating the benefit of prophylactic anticoagulation. Furthermore, we are about to begin studies evaluating the role of prophylactic anticonvulsants in patients with malignant glioma who have not had seizures and medications such as methylphenidate for radiation-induced fatigue.