An international network of researchers and clinicians spearheaded by Carey Anders, MD, director of the Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis (DCBSM), has convened with the mission of improving outcomes for patients with brain metastasis. The Consortium for Intracranial Metastasis Academic Research (CIMARa) seeks to redefine how experts across disciplines work together to tackle complex challenges related to brain metastasis.
CIMARa’s mission is to foster multidisciplinary collaboration to accelerate research and improve care for patients with brain metastases. Duke played a foundational role in the development of CIMARa, as the idea for the consortium emerged during the 2021 DCBSM Colloquium, an annual event designed to increase competence and provide the most up-to-date, evidenced-based review of the biology of brain and spine metastasis.
In the last few years, and particularly at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Anders and her colleagues recognized a need for a more structured, year-round platform to exchange ideas and data. What started as a conversation in 2021 has quickly grown into a consortium with more than 130 members from more than 60 institutions across the world.
“We envisioned maybe 20 people meeting a couple of times a year,” Anders said. “Now we have a truly international community of investigators who are eager to collaborate.”
The consortium includes neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, medical and neuro-oncologists, basic scientists, and patient advocates, including representatives from the American Brain Tumor Association.
Anders serves as CIMARa’s director, with support from co-director Hussein Tawbi, MD, professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Amanda Van Swearingen, PhD, scientific program manager for DCBSM.
“Duke provided the right platform to launch something like this,” Anders said. “It’s about reaching more patients and improving care through collaboration.”
The group meets quarterly, primarily virtually, for members to present new research concepts, seek feedback, and identify potential collaborations.
One of the group’s first retrospective projects, BRACER, examines the use of Bevacizumab, a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted monoclonal antibody, in managing radiation necrosis following treatment for brain metastases. Work on BRACER has also spawned a parallel European study, BRANER, with the Breast International Group that focuses on this same treatment in breast cancer patients.
Ultimately, CIMARa hopes to transition toward prospective clinical trials that can capitalize on international data harmonization and shared learning.
“Ultimately, the hope is that this work would only benefit our patients,” Anders said. “We’re no longer working in isolation; we’re coming together to improve the lives of our patients.”
