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The Genetics of Pediatric Brain Tumors

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Abstract

Brain tumors are the most common childhood solid malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. Medulloblastoma, ependymoma, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, and pilocytic astrocytoma are the most prevalent types, all of which are clinically, histologically, and genetically heterogeneous. Despite an incomplete molecular understanding of these tumors, we have made significant headway in the past 5 years in identifying and classifying important genetic alterations and pathways central to the disease process. This review summarizes our current state of knowledge, emphasizes recent seminal findings in the field, and proposes future research efforts needed to further characterize the genetic basis of pediatric brain tumors.

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No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurosurgery, Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Adrian M. Dubuc, Paul A. Northcott, Stephen Mack & Michael D. Taylor

  2. Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Adrian M. Dubuc, Paul A. Northcott, Stephen Mack & Michael D. Taylor

  3. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Adrian M. Dubuc, Paul A. Northcott, Stephen Mack & Michael D. Taylor

  4. German Cancer Research Center, Molecular Genetics of Pediatric Brain Tumors, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Hendrik Witt & Stefan Pfister

  5. Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Hendrik Witt & Stefan Pfister

  6. Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Michael D. Taylor

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  1. Adrian M. Dubuc
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  2. Paul A. Northcott
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  3. Stephen Mack
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  4. Hendrik Witt
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  5. Stefan Pfister
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  6. Michael D. Taylor
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Stefan Pfister or Michael D. Taylor.

Additional information

Adrian M. Dubuc and Paul A. Northcott contributed equally to this work.

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Dubuc, A.M., Northcott, P.A., Mack, S. et al. The Genetics of Pediatric Brain Tumors. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 10, 215–223 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-010-0103-9

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