Dr. Anne Marie Barrette, principal investigator and head brain cancer researcher at Sutter’s California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, always knew medicine was her passion. As a child, she observed her grandmother’s struggle with severe rheumatoid arthritis and became inspired to pursue medicine and positively impact lives.

A Personal Journey Becomes a Scientific Trek

Once in graduate school, Dr. Barrette’s focus shifted from medicine to cancer research. She concentrated on glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that starts as the growth of malignant cells in the brain or spinal cord. Today, she studies new treatments and drug combinations aimed at both killing tumor cells and preventing them from spreading. These two hallmarks of glioblastoma recurrence make it among the deadliest and most difficult to treat.

Dr. Anne Marie Barrette

“My research has spanned a range of primary brain cancers that affect both children and adults, from less aggressive to the most severe cases, including recurring tumors and those that have spread,” said Dr. Barrette. “However, I’m especially drawn to study the hardest-to-treat tumors with the worst diagnoses. I’m passionate about uncovering the scientific clues that hold significant potential to improve the care of individuals who need hope most.”

Currently, there are limited FDA-approved treatment therapies available to effectively stop or slow the growth of brain cancer. Dr. Barrette collaborates with Sutter physicians to identify the most effective treatment options. She observes how the tumors respond at a cellular level. By observing this response, her team can recommend the treatment options with the greatest likelihood for patient success.

Dr. Xiaoran Zhang

“Treatment of recurrent glioblastoma has always been a huge challenge in the field,” says Dr. Xiaoran Zhang, neurosurgeon with Sutter West Bay Medical Group. “Therapy that would work for one patient can have no impact in another patient. Dr. Barrette’s research using the patient’s own tumor cells allows us the ability to choose the treatment that may be most effective in that patient. This collaboration with Dr. Barrette is the definition of personalized medicine.”

From Patients to Pioneers: Tissue Donations Drive Scientific Discovery

Donor tissue samples offer valuable insights for developing clinical trials. Dr. Barrette notes that every tumor is unique and may not respond the same to a specific medicine. Having access to various human samples significantly deepens understanding of how cancer responds to treatments.

“Commercially available brain tumor cell lines, meaning human tumor cells established from a single homogeneous patient sample that divides indefinitely, can be a great starting point for research experiments,” says Dr. Barrette. “But having a range of patient-derived tumor samples can help us better determine which group of patients to include in future clinical trials for the best possible outcomes for our patients.”

She says researchers at Sutter through the Cancer Avatar Program have one of the largest collections of matched tumor samples and blood collections in their biorepository. It includes primary, recurrent and/or metastatic tumors from the same patients. The repository allows a deeper study of cancer that provides diagnostic feedback to the clinicians, possible treatment options to explore or avoid, and longitudinal monitoring of changes in patient tumors throughout their treatment journey.

Of Mice, Men, Sex and Medicine

Dr. Barrette says little things can play into clinical research, even mice. Studies show brain cancer impacts men and women differently. Men are more likely to develop glioblastoma than women. Men also tend to have a lower survival rate and develop the disease later in life. To mimic human conditions and learn more about these trends, Dr. Barrette implants male tumors exclusively into male mice and female tumors into female mice.

According to Dr. Barrette’s research, not all factors are known for these sex differences in brain cancer. However, differences at the cellular level in tumors suggest treatment options could be customized based on the sex of the patient.

“Just like people, every brain tumor is unique,” said Dr. Zhang. “For far too long we have been treating all brain tumors the same way. Dr. Barrette’s work will one day help us understand what makes each brain tumor unique and allow us to develop more personalized treatments.”

Hope On the Horizon for Brain Cancer Patients

“For individuals courageously fighting brain cancer, research brings hope. Adding even a few months to a patient’s life while we keep pushing for a cure is a success,” says Dr. Barrette. “I believe the key to targeting the deadliest brain cancers lies within a personalized combination of approaches, including traditional chemotherapy or radiation, and additional targeted therapies for individual patients.”

Thanks to hundreds of Sutter patients who generously contributed tissue samples to the Cancer Avatar Program, Dr. Barrette can continue shaping the future of cancer care through research and clinical trials.

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