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Presentation Description:
The management of low grade gliomas is very complex disease. Treatment decisions can be based on the surgical resection, radiological response or progression, visual acuity/preservation, other associated morbidity. Essentially, low grade glioma is a chronic disease and most children will require more than one line of therapy. In the last 30 years clinicians have moved away from treating low grade gliomas with radiation and have used various modalities of chemotherapy to treat these tumours. MEK and BRAF inhibitors have shown excellent promise and response in the Low grade glioma and NF1 population but their length of therapy and side effect management is quite different then “regular” chemotherapy. This presentation will provide a brief overview of low grade glioma’s and highlight the new emerging treatment with BRAF and MEK inhibitors along with the management of the side effects associated with these medications.

Speaker:
Tara McKeown, RN MN NP-Paediatrics
Nurse Practitioner Neuro-oncology Team
The Hospital for Sick Children

Adjunct Lecturer, Lawrence S. Bloomberg, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto Tara McKeown completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Western Ontario and then went on to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Toronto. She worked at the Hospital for Sick Children inpatient Haematology/Oncology inpatient ward as a Registered Nurse for five years and during that time completed a Master of Nursing with Nurse Practitioner in the child stream. Tara has worked as the Nurse Practitioner with the Neuro Oncology team at the Hospital for Sick Children since Jan 2013. She also retains adjunct appointment as an Adjunct Lecturer for the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. Tara has worked closely with the New Agents and Innovative Therapy team at Sick Kids as new drugs, treatments and side effect management is emerging for the Neuro Oncology population.