Children's Brain Tumor Network to Empower National Expansion of Pediatric Data Sharing Through ARPA-H Pediatric Care eXpansion (PCX)

CBTN will help scale real-time, interoperable data across more than 200 hospitals nationwide.

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) today announced its participation in the Pediatric Care eXpansion (PCX) program, a $50 million national initiative launched by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to improve health outcomes for children with complex diseases, beginning with pediatric brain cancer, the leading cause of disease-related death among children in the United States. PCX aims to shorten the path from diagnosis to treatment by expanding real-time, interoperable data sharing across pediatric hospitals nationwide.

As part of PCX, CBTN will contribute its global research network and leverage the AI-enabled data platform RADIANT (Real-time Analysis and Discovery in Integrated and Networked Technologies), providing clinicians with actionable insights informed by real-world patient experiences across institutions.

"Families navigating a pediatric brain tumor diagnosis often face delays caused not by lack of expertise, but by lack of access to information," said Dr. Phillip "Jay" Storm, Co-Founder of CBTN and Chief of Neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "PCX can change that reality by allowing critical health data to follow a child across care settings, so clinicians can make informed decisions faster."

CBTN's established network of more than 35 data-sharing institutions will serve as the initial implementation sites for PCX, providing a foundation for rapid deployment. Through a strategic partnership with the Children's Oncology Group (COG), the program will expand to more than 200 pediatric hospitals nationwide, enabling the full scale of the investment.

"CBTN exists to accelerate answers for children facing brain tumors," said Dr. Adam Resnick, CBTN Scientific Director and Co-Executive Director of the Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine (D³b) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "PCX expands our ability to connect scientific data and patient care across health systems, ensuring discoveries translate into better outcomes for children everywhere."

About the Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN)

The Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) is a global research initiative dedicated to accelerating discovery and improving outcomes for children with brain tumors. By uniting leading institutions, researchers, clinicians, and patient families, CBTN has built the world's largest pediatric brain tumor data and biospecimen resource. Through open science and collaboration, CBTN is changing how pediatric brain tumors are understood and treated. Learn more at cbtn.org.

Media Contact
Whitney Rife
Children's Brain Tumor Network
[email protected]

SOURCE Children’s Brain Tumor Network