Molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma: the current consensus
Abstract
Medulloblastoma, a small blue cell malignancy of the cerebellum, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric oncology. Current mechanisms for clinical prognostication and stratification include clinical factors (age, presence of metastases, and extent of resection) as well as histological subgrouping (classic, desmoplastic, and large cell/anaplastic histology). Transcriptional profiling studies of medulloblastoma cohorts from several research groups around the globe have suggested the existence of multiple distinct molecular subgroups that differ in their demographics, transcriptomes, somatic genetic events, and clinical outcomes. Variations in the number, composition, and nature of the subgroups between studies brought about a consensus conference in Boston in the fall of 2010. Discussants at the conference came to a consensus that the evidence supported the existence of four main subgroups of medulloblastoma (Wnt, Shh, Group 3, and Group 4). Participants outlined the demographic, transcriptional, genetic, and clinical differences between the four subgroups. While it is anticipated that the molecular classification of medulloblastoma will continue to evolve and diversify in the future as larger cohorts are studied at greater depth, herein we outline the current consensus nomenclature, and the differences between the medulloblastoma subgroups.
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About this Article
- Title
- Molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma: the current consensus
- Open Access
- Available under Open Access This content is freely available online to anyone, anywhere at any time.
- Journal
-
Acta Neuropathologica
Volume 123, Issue 4 , pp 465-472 - Cover Date
- 2012-04-01
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00401-011-0922-z
- Print ISSN
- 0001-6322
- Online ISSN
- 1432-0533
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag
- Additional Links
- Topics
- Keywords
-
- Medulloblastoma
- Consensus
- Subgroups
- SHH
- WNT
- Group 3
- Group 4
- Industry Sectors
- Authors
-
-
Michael D. Taylor
(1)
(2)
- Paul A. Northcott (2)
- Andrey Korshunov (3)
- Marc Remke (4) (5)
- Yoon-Jae Cho (6)
- Steven C. Clifford (7)
- Charles G. Eberhart (8)
- D. Williams Parsons (9)
- Stefan Rutkowski (10)
- Amar Gajjar (11)
- David W. Ellison (12)
- Peter Lichter (4)
- Richard J. Gilbertson (13)
- Scott L. Pomeroy (14)
- Marcel Kool (4)
-
Stefan M. Pfister
(4)
(5)
-
Michael D. Taylor
- Author Affiliations
-
- 1. Division of Neurosurgery, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- 2. Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- 3. Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
- 4. Division of Molecular Genetics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
- 5. Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- 6. Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
- 7. Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- 8. Departments of Pathology, Ophthalmology and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 9. Department of Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA
- 10. Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- 11. Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, USA
- 12. Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, USA
- 13. Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, USA
- 14. Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA