Download Comprehensive Neurological Oncology Program

Comprehensive Neurological
Oncology Program
The Comprehensive Neurological Oncology Program at the
University of California, Irvine is committed to advancing
clinical care, education and research to help patients with
brain, spinal cord and nerve tumors.
The neurological oncology team works in tandem with the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer
Center, Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. The program
faculty members are highly-experienced clinicians who are devoted to outstanding patient care,
research and training of the next generation of neurological oncologists.
UC Irvine has the only comprehensive brain tumor program in Orange County and is one of
five such programs in Southern California. The world-class multidisciplinary team enlists the
advanced clinical expertise of specialists in medical neuro-oncology, surgical neuro-oncology,
radiation oncology, neuropathology, psychology and psychiatry. Our comprehensive brain tumor
program is a leader in advanced treatments for brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerve tumors,
offering patients comprehensive multidisciplinary care, the most advanced technology and the
Daniela Bota, M.D., Ph.D., is a
fellowship-trained and certified neurological oncologist and is the Medical
Director of UC Irvine’s Comprehensive
Brain Tumor Program. She specializes in
the treatment of primary and metastatic
brain tumors. Dr. Bota’s clinical interests
include developing new treatments for
high-grade and low-grade gliomas, as
well as the treatment of cancer-induced
cognitive deficits. She is the principal
investigator for a number of brain and
spinal cord tumor clinical trials that are
benefits of leading-edge research.
We provide: hope and support for patients and their families at all stages of disease; respect for
patient autonomy, privacy and dignity, as well as individual needs, goals and priorities; cuttingedge, coordinated, integrated and timely multi-disciplinary patient care and service; excellence
in clinical training and outcomes; academic achievement demonstrated by the development of
new treatment approaches.
For more information on how you can advance the work
UC Irvine Health Advancement
Dr. Daniela Bota and her team in UC Irvine’s Comprehen-
333 City Blvd. West, Orange, CA 92868
sive Neurological Oncology Program, please contact:
714.456.3573 or [email protected]
currently enrolling patients at UC Irvine
Medical Center.
Comprehensive Neurological Oncology Program
THE FUTURE
Our cause and our passion are to take
Survival for brain-cancer patients
treated with chemotherapy has a dark
side: “chemobrain”, the debilitating loss
care of our patients. Our first step
of memory and mental function that
would be to modify chemotherapy
often follows. The neurological oncology
drugs so that they kill the cancer
team is preparing a new weapon that
could one day clear the cognitive fog.
without killing the brain cells around
By manipulating stem cells, they may be
it. Our vision is to create a “one-stop
closer than ever to placing a bull’s eye
shop” for our patients, giving them the
opportunity to have every member of
the team – from surgeons to nutritionists – available at one single site.
over the tumor cells and wiping them out while leaving the brain intact. This
discovery is already being hailed as the first novel approach to tumor therapy in
more than four decades. If this research proves to be effective, it could make a
huge difference in the lives of cancer survivors, not only brain cancer patients,
but those who beat other forms of cancer and also suffer from “chemobrain.”
Among these would be breast cancer patients, who show a 70 percent rate of
memory loss after chemotherapy.
With $9 million in private support we will be able to:
p Establish an Endowed Chair in Medical Neurological Oncology to attract
and retain a Medical Co-Director for the Comprehensive Neuro-Oncology
Program – $2 million
p Establish an Endowed Chair in Surgical Neuro-Oncology to attract and retain a
Surgical Co-Director of the Comprehensive Neuro-Oncology Program – $2 million
p Establish an Endowed Chair in Brain Tumor Research to attract and retain a
Ph.D. researcher in the field of Brain Tumor Biology – $2 million
p Recruit the nation’s top two fellows for four year Neurological Oncology
fellowships – $1 million
p Annual support of research of the effects of chemotherapy on the young
brain – $500,000 annually for 3 years
p Support the Comprehensive Neurological Oncology Program by funding
teams of researchers to explore and sustain new avenues of inquiry for
the treatment of neurological malignancies – $500,000