Children's Brain Tumor Network

The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) drives innovative discoveries, pioneers new treatments, and accelerates open science to improve the health of every child and young adult diagnosed with a brain tumor. The CBTN collects surgical and non-surgical samples for research purposes and pairs large-scale molecular data generated from analyzed samples with clinical and imaging data collected by hospitals in the electronic health records of enrolled patients.The assembled datasets and samples are made available to researchers around the globe through CBTN’s NIH-partnered platforms, portals and resources. By developing scalable solutions for standardized sample and data collection and processing, CBTN is well-positioned to provide comprehensive access to comprehensive molecular data sets and their associated clinical data in order to support a collaborative, open science discovery framework to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.

 To contribute to CBTN's research, inquire with your doctor about consenting to share your data.

Enrolling for Impact

Enrolling in the Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) is your family's courageous step in the fight against pediatric brain tumors. Your contribution begins at any one of our 34 member sites, where dedicated coordinators and tissue navigators guide you through the enrollment process. Your child's journey takes priority, rallying a collaborative multidisciplinary research team focused on both your care and your capacity to participate in leading edge research by the global scientific community. Choose a CBTN-partnered institution and consult with its experts to join the more than 5000 brain tumor families that have partnered with researchers to drive transformative change.

Empowering Change Through A Child’s Gift

Your child's data is more than just numbers—it is a blueprint for progress. At CBTN, biospecimens and data are our most powerful weapons in the fight against pediatric brain tumors. Every collected sample is made available for deep and comprehensive characterization through multiple assays that provide a comprehensive view of the molecular features of the tumor. These large-scale molecular datasets are further integrated with clinical data and imaging data to provide a comprehensive understanding of these intricate diseases in ways that researchers can query and use the data to make new discoveries, identify new treatments and develop new drugs, and design clinical trials.

A Collaborative Effort for Maximum Impact

The samples and data you provide aren't confined to our laboratories. Data is freely and openly shared worldwide with thousands of researchers, clinicians, institutes, centers, consortia, and industry innovators to spur breakthroughs toward more effective treatments and cures.

Partnered initiatives with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the Gabriella Miller Kids First Program and the NCI Childhood Cancer Data Initiative, provide for accelerated access and use of CBTN datasets by the research community. Such efforts are further enhanced through technology partners including AWS, Velsera, and Flywheel to support scalable cloud storage and analysis resources for researchers around the globe. The support provided through these federal initiatives and associated partnerships empowers us to efficiently harness the data you provide, driving advancements that lead to improved outcomes for patients. Your contribution becomes the catalyst for breakthroughs that redefine how we advance pediatric brain tumor care.

Shaping the Future of Data Usage

The core mission of CBTN is to support collaborations and connectivity across the research community and its patient stakeholders. One way CBTN achieves this goal is by transparently sharing the hundreds of projects, proposals, and primary investigators that have accessed samples and data here on the CBTN website so that you and others can keep abreast of the impact we’re all creating by working together. As we progress, our aim is to show you how scientists leverage your child's donated specimens and data and how such resources are transforming the research and discovery landscape on an ongoing basis. Join the Battle. Ignite Change. Fight On, Globally.

The love of a child is boundless, and its impact can be an enduring gift for families everywhere.

Begin Your Journey with the Children’s Brain Tumor Network by Visiting One of Our Member Sites. Explore the institutions on our website.