In the past, patients with brain cancer in the Pacific Northwest had few options for state-of-the-art help.

Now, a Bellevue couple is working to change that.

Anup Madan, Ph.D., and his wife, Anu, a research scientist, are part of the new Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment (CABTT), co-founded by Anup and Dr. Greg Foltz, MD.

Not only is brain cancer typically fatal, but also in the past 25 years, only two new treatments for brain cancer have been approved by the FDA. As a result, brain cancer has been marked as an “orphaned” disease.

Foltz and Madan are part of the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle, a new state-of-the-art brain tumor center, incorporating advanced treatment and innovative research in a single setting. The center, located at the James Tower of the Cherry Hill campus, brings convenience, stability, and a sense of peace for brain cancer patients and their loved ones.

But, above all, the center offers a renewed hope.

The new facility provides patients access to advanced gene-sequencing technologies and the latest innovations in brain-cancer research. CABTT is a first of its kind in Washington state to bring scientists, researchers, doctors, surgeons and patients together in one treatment center. The close proximity allows the team of neurosurgeons, oncologists, radiologists and a specialized nursing staff to work collaboratively towards new treatment options for those diagnosed with all stages of brain tumors, including brain cancer.

The center has private patient rooms that act as a central hub, allowing the patient to stay in one spot while the team of doctors, surgeons, and nurses come to them. A science lab is located directly down the hall from the patient rooms.

“Hospitals are very good at taking care of patients, but when it comes to doing science and merging the two together, there are usually significant barriers,” Foltz pointed out.

Typically, he added, scientific research takes place in a separate building or on a different campus and the interaction between the scientists and physicians is rare.

“A scientist working in a lab may be really good at science, but they may not understand the issues that the individual patient is facing and it’s really by combining the two that you get this synergy that creates powerful advances,” Foltz said.

CABTT has a comprehensive brain tumor research laboratory that provides rapid genetic analysis of all patient tumors. By analyzing DNA from tumors extracted during surgery, Dr. Foltz and his team of scientists and researchers are able to determine which genes are stimulating tumor growth. From there, the team is able to provide custom-tailored treatment options to fight reoccurring tumor growth.

The Neurogenomics Research Laboratory, directed by Dr. Madan and Dr. Foltz,is a fully equipped geneomic laboratory features a next generation genome sequencer as well as microarray technology.

“We are very excited about this new center and I can see how my work is directly affecting the patients,” Madan explained.

He is exploring technologies including high-throughput DNA sequencing, whole-genome microarray analysis, full-length gene synthesis, and comparative genomic analysis.

“This center is a novel idea,” Anu Madan said, adding, “Nothing like this exists in the Northwest and to see it starting from scratch is very rewarding.”

The facility includes four state-of-the-art operating rooms with intra-operative MRI and CT scanning, neuro-interventional radiology capabilities, a renovated neuro intensive-care unit, and a CyberKnife facility for radiosurgical treatment of tumors throughout the body.

“This is a unique environment because you are as close to the patients as you will ever get for a scientist,” Foltz explained. “By having the ability to freeze the tumors right away, we are maintaining the genetic content of the samples as close to what it was in the brain.”

As a patient at the center, you first meet with a team of doctors to best design a treatment plan. Next you travel to the ground floor where surgery to remove the tumor is performed. Once the tumor is removed, a technician from the lab retrieves the tumor and delivers it to the lab for the scientist to extract the DNA.

Most patients in this country, about 20,000, don’t have their tumors studied, but instead the tumors are typically thrown out, Foltz said.

“Imagine the lost opportunity. I always tell my patients that the next breakthrough may come from discoveries extracted from their tumor. Our mission is to keep every tumor and preserve it for research, but also to share the information with other institutions, taking steps towards finding a cure,” he added.

By keeping the tumor preserved, the scientist at CABTT are able to grow the tumor again in test tubes to better understand the tumor and what treatments work most effectively.

According to Foltz, the most recent brain cancer research breakthrough was discovered in the tumor stem cell. If you take the bulk tumor out, he explained, about 99 percent of those cells are brain cancer cells, but if you inject them into a mouse they wouldn’t form a tumor. Only one percent of those cells have the capacity to form a tumor.

“For years I’ve been removing the tumors and yet they grow back aggressively and the mystery has been, if the doctor removed the bulk tumor, why is it not working?” he would ask.

Foltz is convinced that the answer lies in further stem cell research.

“It turns out if you isolate the stem cells, they are different from the bulk of the tumor cells and do not respond to radiation or chemotherapy. Now we have an opportunity to find out what these cells will respond to and bring those treatments to the patients,” he said. “We’re making strides and this center is the next step to uncovering the unknown.”

The Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment was largely established with gifts from the philanthropic community, including more than $3.5 million in private community support led by a $2 million gift from The Sabey Family. For more information about the Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment or new initiatives from Swedish Neuroscience Institute please visit www.swedish.org.