BACKGROUND Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Genetic profiling has identified four principle tumor subgroups; each subgroup is characterized by different initiating mutations, genetic and clinical profiles, and prognoses. The two most well-defined subgroups are caused by overactive signaling in the WNT and SHH mitogenic pathways; less is understood about Grou...

Aberrant receptor kinase signalling and tumour neovascularization are hallmarks of medulloblastoma development and are both considered valuable therapeutic targets. In addition to VEGFR1/2, expression of PDGFR α/β in particular has been documented as characteristic of metastatic disease correlating with poor prognosis. Therefore, we have been suggested that the clinically approved multi-kinase ...

BACKGROUND Alterations in the expression level of miR-495 were recently observed in various tumours. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumour in children. However, the clinical significance of miR-495 in medulloblastomas remains unclear. METHODS The expression levels of miR-495 was examined in 62 archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) medulloblastoma specimens using...

The transcription factor Sox2 has been shown to play essential roles during embryonic development as well as in cancer. To more precisely understand tumor biology and to identify potential therapeutical targets, we thoroughly investigated the expression and function of Sox2 in medulloblastoma, a malignant embryonic brain tumor that initiates in the posterior fossa and eventually spreads through...

While medulloblastoma, a pediatric tumor of the cerebellum, is characterized by aberrations in developmental pathways, the majority of genetic determinants remain unknown. An unbiased Sleeping Beauty transposon screen revealed MyoD as a putative medulloblastoma tumor suppressor. This was unexpected, as MyoD is a muscle differentiation factor and not previously known to be expressed in cerebellu...

Medulloblastoma is the most common pediatric tumor of the nervous system. A large body of animal studies has focused on cerebellar granule neuron precursors (CGNPs) as the cell-of-origin for medulloblastoma. However, the diverse clinical presentations of medulloblastoma subtypes in human patients (nodular, desmoplastic, classical and large cell/anaplastic), and the fact that medulloblastoma is ...

The mTOR pathway controls mRNA translation of mitogenic proteins and is a central regulator of metabolism in malignant cells. Development of malignant cell resistance is a limiting factor to the effects of mTOR inhibitors, but the mechanisms accounting for such resistance are not well understood. We provide evidence that mTORC1 inhibition by rapamycin results in engagement of a negative feedbac...

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in childhood. The most prevalent chromosomal abnormalities are isochromosome 17q and loss of 17p, the location of the tumor suppressor gene p53. Mutations in the p53 gene in medulloblastoma are relatively infrequent but have recently been correlated to poor prognosis. Furthermore, the p53 gene encodes nine different isoforms, which may ha...

Background and Objective: Medulloblastoma is the commonest tumor in children in infratentorial location that is highly malignant, fast growing neoplasm with varying degrees of histological variations. Normally the surgical resection is the common treatment followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. MRI can be used as primary imaging technique in such patients prior to surgery, during the follow...

Deregulation of the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signalling network is a hallmark of oncogenesis. Also medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children, is characterized by high levels of AKT phosphorylation and activated PI3K signalling in medulloblastoma is associated with enhanced cellular motility, survival and chemoresistency underscoring its role of as a potentia...