PURPOSE Although gliomas predominate among central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms in adulthood, embryonal tumors are the most common malignant brain tumors in children. Despite novel treatment approaches, including improved radiotherapy and high-dose chemotherapy, survival rates remain unsatisfactory. The timely diagnosis of residual or recurrent embryonal CNS tumors and thus the earliest possi...

Although treatment modalities for malignant gliomas have advanced remarkably, the prognosis remains poor. This has led to an intensive search for effective treatment alternatives. Recently, T cells activated by antigens from brain tumors were shown to migrate across the blood-brain barrier into the central nervous system (CNS) and selectively attack brain tumors. Then, various vaccination strat...

Chloroethylnitrosoureas (CENUs) are commonly used in the treatment of pediatric and adult central nervous system (CNS) tumors. The antitumor activity of CENUs has been hypothesized to be due to an alkylation occurring at the 06-position of guanine in DNA. The DNA repair protein 06-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is responsible for the repair of these potentially cytotoxic lesions and...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous short non-coding RNAs that repress post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, while embryonal central nervous system tumors are the foremost cause of mortality in children suffering from a neoplasm. MiRNAs and their regulatory mechanisms are new to understand, while pediatric CNS tumors are difficult to comprehend. Therefore, identification of the link...

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) of the brain include medulloblastoma (MB) and central nervous system primitive neuroectodermal tumor (CNS PNET) subtypes, which share histological features yet differ at the genomic level and in clinical outcome. Delineation of the genetic anomalies between PNET subtypes is a current challenge for establishing effective targeted therapeutic strategies aga...

The incidence of primary brain tumors peaks in the aging population, and advanced age in often a prognostic factor associated with shorter survival. In the United States, it is estimated that 69,720 individuals will be diagnosed with primary CNS tumors in 2013, of which 24,560 are expected to be malignant and 45,160 non-malignant. Approximately 50 % of primary CNS tumors are expected to occur i...

Astrocytoma as one of the most common central nervous system (CNS) tumors is rarely reported in veterinary literature. A 7-year-old Persian Lori-Bakhtiari ewe was presented to the clinic with a two months history of progressive blindness, nystagmus to the right, bilaterally decreased pupillary reflexes, head pressing and paddling. At necropsy, a whitish well-circumscribed mass with dimensions o...