Chair’s Message

Dear Section on Tumors Members and Colleagues,

I am excited to take over as the new chair of our incredible group alongside Brian Nahed and Gabriel Zada, our new treasurer and secretary. As we have transitioned with new leadership in the Tumor Section during our 40-year anniversary, I would like to thank Isabelle Germano for all her hard work during her tenure. I would also like to thank all the co-chairs and members of our Section on Tumors Executive Committee who have agreed to serve in their respective subcommittees. We are quite the force with 25 standing subcommittees and more than 160 members! There are four new subcommittees (Diversity/Equity/Inclusion, Metastasis, Nonprofits and Radiation Oncology) within our Executive Committee that I believe represent areas of growth and opportunity within our section.

The 2024 CNS Annual Meeting in Houston is rapidly approaching later this month. I want to thank all our faculty involved with representing the Tumor Section at the CNS meeting this fall. Shawn Hervey-Jumper and Kalil Abdullah have organized an outstanding scientific program for the Tumor Section that includes a diverse group of speakers. A session on the “Evolution of Surgical Management of Brain Cancers in the Age of Targeted Molecular Therapies” is perfect timing after the recent FDA approved targeted therapy of WHO grade 2 IDH mutant gliomas. In addition, a session on “Focused Ultrasound and Intraoperative Photodynamic Therapy During Brain Tumor Resection” will be a highlight of our program. More than 700 scientific abstracts were submitted this year for the CNS Annual Meeting in Houston. The Tumor Section continues to lead the other joint sections with the number of awards granted. For the 2024 CNS meeting, the Tumor Section Awards Subcommittee, led by Linda Bi and Jennifer Moliterno, granted 20 awards to the top scientific abstracts submitted. This is not an easy process, and I thank them for all their hard work.

As we begin to think of new ideas within the Tumor Section and making a difference as a group, I would like to focus in particular on education, innovation/research and mentorship. I believe our Section on Tumors can serve as the model for educational webinars on a variety of neurosurgical oncology topics. The AANS has agreed to team up with us in broadcasting, marketing through social media and storing webinars for future viewing on our website we are now revamping. Our Education Subcommittee, led by Analiz Rodriguez and Isaac Yang, will be providing updates on new upcoming webinars our section can participate in.

Another opportunity for the Tumor Section revolves around the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS) CAST-approved neurosurgical oncology fellowships. The SNS has recommended all subspecialty fellowships that are CAST-approved be part of a match moving forward. The Tumor Section will be instituting the neurosurgical oncology fellowship match based on recommendations from the SNS. Please stay tuned as our CAST Subcommittee, led by Jeff Weinberg and Jason Sheehan, will be working on the logistics of a match in the coming year.

We are at the forefront of new intraoperative technologies that have and will advance our abilities to rapidly diagnose tumors and more safely perform maximal resections. Our relationships with industry will be important to better understand the effectiveness and limitations of new technologies we may be using in neurosurgical oncology. Those same relationships may provide more support for the Tumor Section. Our Development and Partnerships subcommittee, led by Chris Cifarelli and Garni Barkhoudarian, will be seeking new partnerships with our section. Industry support may permit the development of new programs in our section such as the Clinical Trials and Registries Scholar Program and Traveling Tumor Fellowship that the Clinical Trials and Registries Subcommittee will be spearheading under the leadership of Raj Mukherjee and Brad Elder.

Brain tumor research remains a very important mission of our section. We will continue partnering with the NREF and now the SNS Neurosurgeon-Scientist Training Program (NSTP) to ensure the best science is funded for our residents in training. We will be developing closer ties with nonprofit brain tumor organizations such as the ABTA, NBTS, StacheStrong and the SBTF who share our mission for supporting high-quality brain tumor research in order to improve patient outcomes.

The Journal of Neuro-Oncology (JNO) will continue to serve as the official journal for the Tumor Section. I am pleased to share we will be renewing our contract with the JNO for another five years. As the editor-in chief, Jason Sheehan, continues to be an important partner (and prior Tumor Section chair) with our section promoting special issues within the journal.

Our future depends on the proper mentorship of our younger colleagues in neurosurgical oncology. The tremendous service each of our members provide in our Section on Tumors permits all our programs to flourish. We cannot do this without mentoring and promoting our younger colleagues. It is our job to identify rising stars around us and invite new them to join us for our Executive Committee meetings either in person or virtually.

Please continue to provide myself, Brian and Gab any new ideas or initiatives we should consider with the Tumor Section. I look forward to seeing you all in Houston!

Sincerely,

Costas G. Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD

Chair, AANS/CNS Section on Tumors