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Molecular Basis of Pediatric Brain Tumors

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Abstract

Brain tumors emerge as the second commonest type of pediatric solid tumors following hematologic malignancies. Genomic profiling of low- and high-grade gliomas, ependymomas and medulloblastomas has revealed chromosomal abnormalities and specific gene mutations which have been associated with aberrant activation of crucial signal transduction pathways, including mitogen-activated protein kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin and retinoblastoma tumor suppressor signaling. Furthermore, pediatric high-grade gliomas are associated with chromatin remodeling defects and somatic histone gene mutations that affect prognosis. This review provides an update of the molecular and genetic alterations that characterize pediatric brain tumors, and discusses novel therapeutic approaches targeting these abnormalities.

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  1. Alexia Klonou and Christina Piperi have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 75 M. Asias Street - Bldg 16, 11527, Athens, Greece

    Alexia Klonou, Christina Piperi, Antonios N. Gargalionis & Athanasios G. Papavassiliou

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  1. Alexia Klonou
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  2. Christina Piperi
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  3. Antonios N. Gargalionis
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  4. Athanasios G. Papavassiliou
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Klonou, A., Piperi, C., Gargalionis, A.N. et al. Molecular Basis of Pediatric Brain Tumors. Neuromol Med 19, 256–270 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-017-8455-9

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