NBC New York Highlights Research into Incurable Pediatric Brain Tumor

Diffuse infiltrative pontine glioma — also known as DIPG or pontine glioma — is a rare, inoperable and incurable brain stem tumor that typically strikes young children.

But Dr. Mark Souweidane, the Director of Pediatric Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, is working to change that by studying the disease and searching for a cure. 

NBC New York highlighted his work against DIPG in a recent interview with Dr. Souweidane and John Gungie Rivera, who set up the Cristian Rivera Foundation to help bring awareness to the disease and find a cure. The foundation, named after Rivera’s son, has been a loyal supporter of Dr. Souweidane’s research.

DIPG occurs in the pons, a delicate area of the brainstem that controls many critical functions, including breathing and blood pressure. Because of its location, as well as the way it infiltrates normal brain tissue, it is especially difficult to treat. DIPG’s victims are typically less than 10 years old.

Dr. Souweidane, as part of the Children’s Brain Tumor Project at Weill Cornell Medicine, has dedicated his research and clinical work to finding better therapies and a cure for DIPG.

Watch his interview with NBC New York to learn more about his efforts and the promising early results of a clinical trial currently underway at Weill Cornell Medicine.