Abstract
Background: Medulloblastoma (MB) comprises of four molecular subtypes, Sonic hedgehog (SHH), Wingless (WNT), Groups 3 and 4. WNT-subtype MBs were found to arise from midline of the brainstem occupying the fourth ventricle while SHH-subtype occupied the cerebellar hemisphere in a small subset of patients. Procedure: We tested this hypothesis in a large cohort of pediatric MBs comprising of all four molecular subtypes. Results: We validated in the first comprehensive analysis of tumor location of 60 human MBs representative of the four molecular subtypes, that hemispheric tumors are significantly associated with SHH-subtype MBs while midline tumors with WNT-subtype, Group 3 and 4 MBs (P<0.001). Nearly half of SHH-subtype MBs were midline. Conclusions: Tumor location should not be generalized to MB subtypes. SHH-subtype MBs are not exclusively hemispheric and hemispheric MBs are not always SHH-activated. It is imperative to identify subtypes in conjunction with tumor location when exploring currently available targeted therapy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1408-1410 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Pediatric Blood and Cancer |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2013 |
Keywords
- Medulloblastoma
- Molecular subtypes
- Pediatric
- Tumor location
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Hematology