Karen Wright, MD, MS
Attending, Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
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Karen Wright, MD, MS
Attending, Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Medical Services
Languages
English
Education
Medical School
Temple University School of Medicine
2003
Philadelphia
PA
Internship
Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital
2006
Lebanon
NH
Fellowship
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
2010
Memphis
TN
Certifications
American Board of Pediatrics (General)
Professional History
The diagnosis of cancer is incredibly difficult for anyone, but when it’s your child, it’s particularly devastating. I make sure to reassure patients, parents, families and caregivers that this is a partnership and a journey we will weather together. Part of my job is to teach them about the tumor, the treatment, and expected side effects of that treatment, but what they don’t initially realize is how much they will teach me in return. I’ve had years of training to prepare for this; they have had but a few weeks. Yet one of the most rewarding parts of my job is to watch my patients, their families and caregivers transition from students to teachers. I think it’s important to also acknowledge that although we may not cure every patient with a brain tumor, we will help patients to live as long and as well as possible with current therapies and supportive care.
Publications
Treatment Approach for Metastatic Intracranial Germinoma: A Multi-Institutional Experience. View Abstract
A comparative analysis of IDH-mutant glioma in pediatric, young adult, and older adult patients. View Abstract
Author Correction: Molecular profiling of 888 pediatric tumors informs future precision trials and data-sharing initiatives in pediatric cancer. View Abstract
Molecular profiling of 888 pediatric tumors informs future precision trials and data-sharing initiatives in pediatric cancer. View Abstract
Clinical utility of DNA methylation profiling for choroid plexus tumors. View Abstract
Development of Chromosome 1q+ Specific Treatment for Highest Risk Pediatric Posterior Fossa Ependymoma. View Abstract
High-grade glioma in infants and young children is histologically, molecularly, and clinically diverse: Results from the SJYC07 trial and institutional experience. View Abstract
Advances in Treatment of Diffuse Midline Gliomas. View Abstract
Multi-institutional study of the frequency, genomic landscape, and outcome of IDH-mutant glioma in pediatrics. View Abstract
Upfront molecular targeted therapy for the treatment of BRAF-mutant pediatric high-grade glioma. View Abstract
Molecular classification and outcome of children with rare CNS embryonal tumors: results from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital including the multi-center SJYC07 and SJMB03 clinical trials. View Abstract
Liquid biopsy detection of genomic alterations in pediatric brain tumors from cell-free DNA in peripheral blood, CSF, and urine. View Abstract
Structural variants shape driver combinations and outcomes in pediatric high-grade glioma. View Abstract
Outcomes after first relapse of childhood intracranial ependymoma. View Abstract
A POETIC Phase II study of continuous oral everolimus in recurrent, radiographically progressive pediatric low-grade glioma. View Abstract
Anaplastic Astrocytoma in a Child With Coffin-Siris Syndrome and a Germline SMARCE1 Mutation: A Case Report. View Abstract
Increasing value of autopsies in patients with brain tumors in the molecular era. View Abstract
Revisiting the Role of Radiation Therapy for Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma. View Abstract
Cutaneous reactions to targeted therapies in children with CNS tumors: A cross-sectional study. View Abstract
Prospective feasibility and safety assessment of surgical biopsy for patients with newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. View Abstract
Establishing a Preclinical Multidisciplinary Board for Brain Tumors. View Abstract
Irreversible growth plate fusions in children with medulloblastoma treated with a targeted hedgehog pathway inhibitor. View Abstract
Rethinking childhood ependymoma: a retrospective, multi-center analysis reveals poor long-term overall survival. View Abstract
Clinical targeted exome-based sequencing in combination with genome-wide copy number profiling: precision medicine analysis of 203 pediatric brain tumors. View Abstract
The current consensus on the clinical management of intracranial ependymoma and its distinct molecular variants. View Abstract
Translational Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Modeling and Simulation: Optimizing 5-Fluorouracil Dosing in Children With Pediatric Ependymoma. View Abstract
Vismodegib and Physeal Closure in a Pediatric Patient. View Abstract
A 2-Year-Old Girl with Dysmetria and Ataxia. View Abstract
Phase I study of 5-fluorouracil in children and young adults with recurrent ependymoma. View Abstract
Response to: comment on "Delayed methotrexate excretion in infants and young children with primary central nervous system tumors and postoperative fluid collections". View Abstract
Incidental diagnosis of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma in children. View Abstract
Delayed methotrexate excretion in infants and young children with primary central nervous system tumors and postoperative fluid collections. View Abstract
Pubertal development and primary ovarian insufficiency in female survivors of embryonal brain tumors following risk-adapted craniospinal irradiation and adjuvant chemotherapy. View Abstract
Successful treatment of pediatric plasmacytoid dendritic cell tumors with a contemporary regimen for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. View Abstract
Current treatment options for pediatric and adult patients with ependymoma. View Abstract
What goes around comes around? Wernicke encephalopathy and the nationwide shortage of intravenous multivitamins revisited. View Abstract
Necrosis after craniospinal irradiation: results from a prospective series of children with central nervous system embryonal tumors. View Abstract
Distinct disease-risk groups in pediatric supratentorial and posterior fossa ependymomas. View Abstract
Isochromosome 17q, MYC amplification and large cell/anaplastic phenotype in a case of medullomyoblastoma with extracranial metastases. View Abstract
A procedure to statistically evaluate agreement of differential expression for cross-species genomics. View Abstract
Sequencing of local therapy affects the pattern of treatment failure and survival in children with atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors of the central nervous system. View Abstract
Successful treatment of early detected trilateral retinoblastoma using standard infant brain tumor therapy. View Abstract
Cross-species genomics matches driver mutations and cell compartments to model ependymoma. View Abstract
To infinium, and beyond! View Abstract
Late effects of treatment for wilms tumor. View Abstract
New chemotherapy strategies and biological agents in the treatment of childhood ependymoma. View Abstract
Molecular profiling of pediatric brain tumors: insight into biology and treatment. View Abstract
Congenital rubella syndrome in a child born to Liberian refugees: clinical and public health perspectives. View Abstract