Dr. David Sandberg, MD

David I. Sandberg, MD, FACS, FAAP, is fellowship trained in pediatric neurosurgery with a special clinical and research interest in pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Sandberg specializes in minimally invasive endoscopic approaches to brain tumors, hydrocephalus and arachnoid cysts, as well as surgical management of arteriovenous malformations of the brain, congenital spinal anomalies, spasticity and craniofacial anomalies. He has developed novel treatment approaches for certain types of brain tumors in children.

A graduate of Harvard University, Dr. Sandberg received his medical degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed neurosurgery training at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University/New York Presbyterian Hospital. During residency, he was awarded the Resident Traveling Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons, which he completed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. He then completed pediatric neurosurgery fellowship training at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Before joining McGovern Medical School, Dr. Sandberg served as associate professor of clinical neurological surgery and pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

In addition to his appointment at McGovern Medical School, Dr. Sandberg is a professor in the department of Neurosurgery and division of Pediatrics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and serves as co-director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital. The recipient of numerous research grants, Dr. Sandberg is currently investigating direct administration of chemotherapy into the fourth ventricle for treatment of malignant posterior fossa tumors of childhood. Dr. Sandberg is also the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Mischer Neuroscience Institute.

Major Clinical Interests

His major clinical interests include pediatric brain tumors, minimally invasive endoscopic approaches to brain tumors and hydrocephalus, congenital spinal anomalies, vascular malformations, spasticity, and craniofacial disorders in children.

Research Interests and Medical Missions

Dr. Sandberg's major research interests focus on novel means of delivering therapeutic agents into the brain for the treatment of childhood brain tumors. He has developed translational research models in piglets and primates and is currently initiating a Phase I clinical trial based upon these research efforts. He has been principal investigator of studies funded by the Woman's Cancer Association of the University of Miami, Miami Children's Hospital Foundation and the Emily Dorfman Foundation, and has served on medical missions to Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Uganda and Haiti. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS).

Pediatric Brain Tumor Trials

Pediatric and Adult Brain Tumor Trial for Recurrent Medulloblastoma, Ependymoma and Other Tumors

A new brain tumor trial is now open to qualified participants. The research study is being conducted by David Sandberg, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

The study is called “Fourth Ventricular Administration of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (Nivolumab) and Methotrexate or 5-Azacytidine for Recurrent Medulloblastoma, Ependymoma,

and other CNS Malignancies.” It is open to patients ages 2 to 80 years old with recurrent medulloblastoma, ependymoma, and certain other tumors that start or recur in the posterior fossa (back of the brain).

The study employs a novel means of treating these tumors: infusion of two agents directly into

the fourth ventricle or tumor resection cavity rather than through systemic intravenous delivery. All enrolled patients will receive infusions of Nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Patients with ependymoma will additionally receive infusions of 5-azacytidine, and patients with medulloblastoma and other tumors will additionally receive infusions of methotrexate. There will be no simultaneous systemic chemotherapy.

The study is listed at ClinicalTrials.gov under NCT06466798, 

Pediatric and Adult Brain Tumor Trial for Recurrent Ependymoma

A new brain tumor trial is now open to qualified participants. The research study is being conducted by David Sandberg, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The study is called “Combination Intraventricular Chemotherapy Pilot Study: 5-Azacytidine (5-AZA) and Trastuzumab Infusions Into the Fourth Ventricle or Resection Cavity in Children and Adults With Recurrent or Residual Posterior Fossa Ependymoma.” It is open to patients ages 1 to 80 years old with recurrent ependymoma.

The study employs a novel means of treating recurrent Ependymoma: infusion of two chemotherapy agents (5-Azacytidine and Trastuzumab) directly into the fourth ventricle or tumor resection cavity rather than through systemic intravenous delivery. 5-Azacytidine (5-AZA) is a DNA methylation inhibitor that has been safely infused into the fourth ventricle in our previous clinical trial (NCT02940483). Trastuzumab is a targeted antibody therapy that is of interest for the treatment of ependymoma and has been safely infused intrathecally in children. There will be no simultaneous systemic chemotherapy.

This study is listed at ClinicalTrials.gov under NCT04958486.

Infusion of MTX110 into the Fourth Ventricle in Patients With Recurrent Medulloblastoma

This pilot study seeks to enroll qualified participants with recurrent medulloblastoma. This novel trial places MTX110, a new formulation of panobinostat, directly into the fourth ventricle of the brain. The research study is led by David Sandberg, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

MTX110 is a chemotherapy drug that has shown promise in laboratory models of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Treatments that are currently available for recurrent medulloblastoma are often associated with considerable toxicity, and when tumors recur despite these treatments, survival rates are low. Dr. Sandberg’s novel trial places the chemotherapy directly into the fourth ventricle, in an effort to deliver the treatment only to the affected area while avoiding the surrounding healthy tissue.

The pilot study, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, will enroll five (5) patients with recurrent medulloblastoma at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. MTX110 is a new formulation of panobinostat from Midatech Pharma PLC.

This study is listed at ClinicalTrials.gov under NCT04315064.

Infusion of 5-AZA Pilot Study (Recurrent Posterior Fossa Ependymoma)

This study, called “Infusion of 5-Azacytidine (5-AZA) into the Fourth Ventricle or Resection Cavity in Children with Recurrent Posterior Fossa Ependymoma: A Pilot Study,” is open to patients ages 1 to 21 years old with recurrent ependymoma that originated in the posterior fossa of the brain. The research study is being conducted by David Sandberg, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

The study employs a novel means of treating ependymoma brain tumors that originate from the fourth ventricle: infusion of a chemotherapy agent directly into the fourth ventricle rather than systemic intravenous delivery. The agent being infused, 5-AZA, has never been infused into the brain in humans but has been shown to effectively kill ependymoma cells in the laboratory. There will be no simultaneous systemic chemotherapy.

This study is listed at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT # 02940483, under “Brain Tumor Recurrent.”

Combination Intraventricular Chemotherapy Pilot Study

Methotrexate and Etoposide Infusions into the Fourth Ventricle or Resection Cavity in Children with Recurrent Posterior Fossa Brain Tumors

This pilot study is called “Combination Intraventricular Chemotherapy Pilot Study: Methotrexate and Etoposide Infusions into the Fourth Ventricle or Resection Cavity in Children with Recurrent Posterior Fossa Brain Tumors.” It is open to patients ages 1 to 80 years old with recurrent medulloblastoma (PNET), recurrent ependymoma, and recurrent atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors involving the brain and/or spine. The study is being conducted by David Sandberg, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. The study is called “Combination Intraventricular Chemotherapy Pilot Study: Methotrexate and Etoposide Infusions into the Fourth Ventricle or Resection Cavity in Children with Recurrent Posterior Fossa Brain Tumors.” It is open to patients who are age 1 to 21 years old with recurrent medulloblastoma (PNET), recurrent ependymoma, and recurrent atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors involving the brain and/or spine.

The study employs a novel means of treating malignant tumors that originate from the fourth ventricle: infusion of two chemotherapy agents directly into the fourth ventricle rather than through systemic intravenous delivery. There will be no simultaneous systemic chemotherapy.

This study is listed at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT # 02905110, under “Brain Tumor Recurrent.”

Other Trials:

• Non-operative Management of Suspected Calvarial Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis
• Risk of Radiation-Induced Malignancies from Computerized Tomography (CT) Scanning in Children Shunted Before 6 Years of Age
• An Operator-Blinded Study of the Efficacy of ShuntCheck-Micro-Pumper, a Non-Invasive Diagnostic Procedure, in Detecting Ventricular Shunt Patency or Occlusion and in Predicting Clinical Outcome in Children and Adolescents Presenting to Emergency Departments and Neurosurgery Clinics

Professional Recognition & Awards

• 1992 - Samuel H. Abramson Research Fellowship
• 1992 - John Harvard Scholarship
• 1993 - Phi Beta Kappa
• 1994 - National Institutes of Health, Summer Research Fellowship
• 1999 - AANS/CNS Resident Traveling Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery
• 2001 - Kenneth Shulman Award from AANS/CNS for best paper presented at Pediatric Neurological Surgery Section meeting
• 2002 - Cornell Medical Center Alumni Council Distinguished Housestaff Award
• 2010 - Miami Children's Hospital Research Institute: Award for Excellence in Research

Editor and Ad Hoc Reviewer

Dr. Sandberg is editor of the ISPN Guide to Pediatric Neurosurgery, Tumor Section, and is an ad hoc reviewer for a number of neurosurgery and neuroscience journals. He has co-authored textbook chapters and numerous manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals including Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, Journal of Neuro-Oncology, Journal of Child Neurology and Pediatric Neurosurgery.