Radiation therapy for pilocytic astrocytomas of childhood.

Purpose: Though radiation therapy is generally considered the most effective treatment for unresectable pilocytic astrocytomas in children, there are few data to support this claim. To examine the efficacy of radiation therapy for pediatric pilocytic astrocytomas, we retrospectively reviewed the experience at our institution.

Methods And Materials: Thirty-five patients 18 years old or younger with unresectable tumors and without evidence of neurofibromatosis have been treated since 1982.

Expression profiling of the developing mouse lung: insights into the establishment of the extracellular matrix.

We have undertaken a comprehensive gene expression profiling of the entire process of murine lung development using oligonucleotide-based microarrays. Our data reveals the expression pattern of approximately 11,000 genes throughout the morphologic stages of lung development. This includes known genes with unappreciated pulmonary expression and novel genes with undefined functions.