Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Dev Cell 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Program in Developmental & Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Joint Institute of Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Zhejiang University and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address:

SUFU alterations are common in human Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) subgroup medulloblastoma (MB). However, its tumorigenic mechanisms have remained elusive. Here, we report that loss of Sufu alone is unable to induce MB formation in mice, due to insufficient Gli2 activation. Read More

Neurochirurgie 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Centre Léon Bérard, 28, rue Laennec, 69673 Lyon, France.

Adult medulloblastomas are orphan diseases that differ from their pediatric counterpart. Most are classified as classic or desmoplastic and fall in the SHH subgroup, mainly with loss-of-function mutations in PTCH1 and some by TP53-mutation due to underlying germline mutation. Activation of the WNT pathway is sporadic, although underlying Turcot syndrome may be present. Read More

Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2018 Dec 14:1-9. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

a Department of Neurosurgery , The First Affiliated Hospital of Yangtze University , Jingzhou , Hubei Province , China.

Recently, miR-221-3p expression has been reported to be down-regulated in medulloblastoma (MB), but its functional effects remains unclear. In this study, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed significantly decreased miR-221-3p in MB cell lines. Transfection of miR-221-3p mimics reduced, or inhibitor increased cell proliferation in MB cells using MTT assay. Read More

Pediatr Neurosurg 2018 Dec 13:1-3. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.

Life Sci 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Medical Mycology, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Skin Diseases and STIs, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address:

Itraconazole is an antagonist of the component Smoothened of Hedgehog pathway, which can inhibit the growth of medulloblastoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma, etc. To research the binding mechanism of the Smoothened and triazoles, we used docking and molecular dynamics simulations on the Smoothened crystal structure and six triazoles. Unlike vismodegib, itraconazole can effectively bind into the pocket in the C-terminal domain of the Smoothened crystal structure instead of the N-terminal domain. Read More

Brain Tumor Pathol 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Experimental and Clinical Pathology, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, A. Pawińskiego 5 Street, 02-106, Warsaw, Poland.

Expression of the ALK gene strongly correlates with the WNT-activated medulloblastomas, which are routinely identified by detection of CTNNB1 mutation. However, some tumors have mutations in other than CTNNB1 genes. Therefore, we investigated if ALK expression may identify WNT-activated tumors without CTNNB1 mutation. Read More

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

From the Department of Radiology (M.I., M.Z., K.S., E.T., B.L., K.W.Y.)

Background And Purpose: Distinct molecular subgroups of pediatric medulloblastoma confer important differences in prognosis and therapy. Currently, tissue sampling is the only method to obtain information for classification. Our goal was to develop and validate radiomic and machine learning approaches for predicting molecular subgroups of pediatric medulloblastoma. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Genetics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105;

Frequent oxidative modification of the neural genome is a by-product of the high oxygen consumption of the nervous system. Rapid correction of oxidative DNA lesions is essential, as genome stability is a paramount determinant of neural homeostasis. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1; also known as "APEX1" or "REF1") is a key enzyme for the repair of oxidative DNA damage, although the specific role(s) for this enzyme in the development and maintenance of the nervous system is largely unknown. Read More

Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2018 Dec 11:1-10. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

b Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers , Houston , Texas , USA.

Background: Craniospinal irradiation (CSI) often results in endocrine deficiencies in children with medulloblastoma due to irradiation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA) or the thyroid gland. CSI with Proton radiation therapy (PRT) has the potential to decrease the risk of hypothyroidism by reduction in radiation dose to these organs. This study compares the risk for hypothyroidism in patients with medulloblastoma treated with Photon radiation therapy (XRT) or PRT. Read More

Pediatr Blood Cancer 2018 Dec 10:e27576. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Nemours/A.I duPont Hospital for Children, Thomas Jefferson University, Wilmington, Delaware.

Top Magn Reson Imaging 2018 Dec;27(6):479-502

Section of Neuroimaging, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN.

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant solid tumor in childhood and the most common embryonal neuroepithelial tumor of the central nervous system. Several morphological variants are recognized: classic medulloblastoma, large cell/anaplastic medulloblastoma, desmoplastic/nodular medulloblastoma, and medulloblastoma with extensive nodularity. Recent advances in transcriptome and methylome profiling of these tumors led to a molecular classification that includes 4 major genetically defined groups. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2018 Dec 4. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Department of Radiotherapy, The Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center, Gliwice Branch, Ul. Wybrzeże AK 15, 44-101, Gliwice, Poland.

Purpose: To assess the results and tolerance of radiosurgery/hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy performed after craniospinal irradiation for recurrent tumor.

Methods: Fourteen patients aged 3-46 years, diagnosed with medulloblastoma (10), anaplastic ependymoma (3), and primitive neuroectodermal tumor (1). All patients had craniospinal irradiation (CSI) with the total dose of 30. Read More

Clin Cancer Res 2018 Nov 28. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Molecular Oncology Program, Division of Surgical Oncology, Dewitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, Universtiy of Miami.

Purpose: Although most children with medulloblastoma (MB) are cured of their disease, SONIC HEDGEHOG (SHH) subgroup MB driven by mutations is essentially lethal. Casein Kinase 1α (CK1α) phosphorylates and destabilizes GLI transcription factors, thereby inhibiting the key effectors of SHH signaling. We therefore tested a second-generation CK1α activator against mutant, amplified MB. Read More

Int J Oncol 2018 Nov 19. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.

The aberrant activation of hedgehog (HH) signaling is a leading cause of the development of medulloblastoma, a pediatric tumor of the cerebellum. The FDA‑approved HH inhibitor, Vismodegib, which targets the transmembrane transducer SMO, has shown limited efficacy in patients with medulloblastoma, due to compensatory mechanisms that maintain an active HH‑GLI signaling status. Thus, the identification of novel actionable mechanisms, directly affecting the activity of the HH‑regulated GLI transcription factors is an important goal for these malignancies. Read More

Front Pharmacol 2018 12;9:1281. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

High-throughput analysis has improved the knowledge of medulloblastoma (MB), the leading cause of cancer related death in children, allowing a better comprehension of the key molecular pathways in MB pathogenesis. However, despite these advances, 30% of patients still die from the disease and survivors face severe long-term side effects. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a subset of cells that not only drive tumorigenesis, but are also one of the main determinants of chemoresistance. Read More

Nat Rev Drug Discov 2018 Nov;17(12):864

IDCases 2018 13;14:e00469. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Division of Infection Control and Prevention, Osaka University Hospital, Japan.

species is rarely found to be pathogenic to humans and there are few clinical cases that have been described in the literature. We report a case of bacteremia that involved a 9-year-old Japanese boy who was in a condition of febrile neutropenia caused by chemotherapy for cerebellar medulloblastoma. Conventional phenotyping failed to identify the organism; however, genetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequencing confirmed the pathogen to be . Read More

Cancer Cell Int 2018 20;18:190. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

1Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No. 37 Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu, Sichuan China.

Background: Rhabdoid tumors (RTs) are aggressive tumors that occur most frequently in children under 2 years old, which often invade kidney (KRTs) and Center Nervous System, named Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs). RTs often progress fast and lead to a high lethality. RTs have a low incidence, we can hardly accumulate enough samples to elicit the diagnosis. Read More

Neurology 2018 Nov;91(22):1031

Case Rep Endocrinol 2018 24;2018:4748750. Epub 2018 Oct 24.

Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

In a seminal report, a 17-year-old boy with panhypopituitarism had fatty liver (FL) amelioration with growth hormone (GH). By extension, since hepatic insulin resistance (IR) is key to FL and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), GH then may ameliorate the IR of T2DM. We present a 17-year-old nonobese female with untreated childhood onset growth hormone deficiency (CO-GHD) who developed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and steatohepatitis with bridging fibrosis. Read More

Trends Neurosci 2018 Dec;41(12):870-872

Departments of Cancer Biology and Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address:

The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is a highly conserved signaling system regulating a range of developmental processes. A 1997 paper by Goodrich and colleagues provided major contributions to understanding the Hh pathway by mutating the gene encoding the Hh receptor, Patched, and thereby developing a mouse model for a human cancer predisposition syndrome, known as Gorlin syndrome. These studies provided one of the first genetically engineered mouse models for brain tumors. Read More

Eur J Med Chem 2018 Nov 10;162:495-506. Epub 2018 Nov 10.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, 69 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3092, Storrs, CT, 06269, United States. Electronic address:

The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is a developmental pathway with therapeutic potential as a target for a variety of cancers. In recent years, several vitamin D-based compounds have been identified as potent inhibitors of Hh signaling. These analogues contain aromatic phenol A-ring mimics coupled to the CD-ring side chain of vitamin D3 through modified seco-B regions. Read More

Cytopathology 2018 Nov 23. Epub 2018 Nov 23.

Division of Anatomic Pathology and Histology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Foundation "A. Gemelli" University Hospital, Largo Francesco Vito, 1-00168, Rome, Italy.

Objective: The current tools available for detecting malignant neoplasms in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are neurologic examination, followed by neuroimaging, cytology and molecular techniques. To highlight the role of cytology the diagnosis of metastatic tumors in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, we present our experience using cytospin and ThinPrep liquid-based cytology (LBC).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the pathological records of 8,181 cytological specimens of CSF which were diagnosed over a 17-year period. Read More

J Neurooncol 2018 Nov 22. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105-2794, USA.

Purpose: Advantages to computerized cognitive assessment include increased precision of response time measurement and greater availability of alternate forms. Cogstate is a computerized cognitive battery developed to monitor attention, memory, and processing speed. Although the literature suggests the domains assessed by Cogstate are areas of deficit in children undergoing treatment for medulloblastoma, the validity of Cogstate in this population has not been previously investigated. Read More

Exp Neurol 2018 Nov 16;312:33-42. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Italian National Research Council (CNR), I-00015, Monterotondo Scalo, Rome, Italy.

The G-protein coupled receptor 37-like 1 (Gpr37l1) is specifically expressed in most astrocytic glial cells, including cerebellar Bergmann astrocytes and interacts with patched 1 (Ptch1), a co-receptor of the sonic hedgehog (Shh)-smoothened (Smo) signaling complex. Gpr37l1 null mutant mice exhibit precocious post-natal cerebellar development, with altered Shh-Smo mitogenic cascade and premature down-regulation of granule cell precursor (GCP) proliferation. Gpr37l1 expression is downregulated in medulloblastoma (MB) and upregulated in glioma and glioblastoma tumors. Read More

Cancer Lett 2018 Nov 14;442:341-350. Epub 2018 Nov 14.

Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden. Electronic address:

Overactivation of the Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway is implicated in many cancers. In this study, we demonstrate that the small molecule RITA, a p53 activator, effectively downregulates HH signaling in human medulloblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma cells irrespective of p53. This is mediated by a ROS-independent activation of the MAP kinase JNK. Read More

J Photochem Photobiol B 2018 Dec 7;189:298-305. Epub 2018 Nov 7.

Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell Therapeutics, Heinrich Heine University Hospital, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. Electronic address:

Background: Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor of childhood. High risk patients still have a poor outcome, and especially young patients suffer from standard therapy induced sequelae. Therefore, other therapeutic options need to be explored. Read More

Front Pediatr 2018 1;6:315. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

Numb is an intracellular protein with multiple functions. The two prevalent isoforms, Numb p66 and Numb p72, are regulators of differentiation and proliferation in neuronal development. Additionally, Numb functions as cell fate determinant of stem cells and cancer stem cells and its abnormal expression has been described in several types of cancer. Read More

J Neurooncol 2018 Nov 13. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Introduction: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been utilized as adjunctive treatment of CNS tumors and for radiation necrosis (RN) with reported success. The safety and efficacy in pediatric patients is less understood.

Methods: Seven patients (ages 10-23 years, six females) were treated with HBOT (3-60 sessions) for either RN (n = 5) or tumor-associated edema (n = 2). Read More

Zhonghua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi 2018 Nov;47(11):872-873

Radiographics 2018 Nov-Dec;38(7):2102-2122

From the Departments of Diagnostic Imaging (J.A., W.M.), Neurooncology (M.Z., V.R.), and Pediatric Neuroradiology (H.B., C.R., S.L.), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 1X8; and Departments of Diagnostic Imaging (J.A., P.H.) and Pediatric Interventional Radiology (W.M.), Sidra Medical and Research Center, Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar.

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in the pediatric population. Pediatric neuro-oncology has changed tremendously during the past decade owing to ongoing genomic advances. The diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of pediatric brain tumors are now highly reliant on the genetic profile and histopathologic features of the tumor rather than the histopathologic features alone, which previously were the reference standard. Read More

J Clin Transl Endocrinol 2018 Dec 26;14:25-33. Epub 2018 Sep 26.

Department of Medical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Rigshospitalet, National University Hospital, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Central hypothyroidism (CH) is a rare cause of hypothyroidism. CH is frequently overlooked, as its clinical picture is subtle and includes non-specific symptoms; furthermore, if measurement of TSH alone is used to screen for thyroid function, TSH concentrations can be normal or even above the upper normal reference limit. Indeed, certain patients are at risk of developing CH, such as those with a pituitary adenoma or hypophysitis, those who have been treated for a childhood malignancy, have suffered a head trauma, sub-arachnoid hemorrhage or meningitis, and those who are on drugs capable to reduce TSH secretion. Read More

Lancet Oncol 2018 Dec 8;19(12):1590-1601. Epub 2018 Nov 8.

Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.

Background: Treatments for childhood cancer have evolved over the past 50 years, with the goal of maximising the proportion of patients who achieve long-term survival, while minimising the adverse effects of therapy. We aimed to assess incidence patterns of serious chronic health conditions in long-term survivors of childhood cancer across three decades of diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: We used data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a retrospective cohort with longitudinal follow-up of 5-year survivors of common childhood cancers (leukaemia, tumours of the CNS, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms tumour, neuroblastoma, soft tissue sarcoma, or bone tumours) who were diagnosed before the age of 21 years and from 1970 to 1999 in North America. Read More

J Neurooncol 2018 Dec 9;140(3):529-538. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.

Purpose: Meningiomas are a frequent tumor of the central nervous system. Although mostly benign, approximately 5% present as atypical or malignant tumors. Treatments for atypical meningiomas include gross total resection and radiotherapy, but about 33% of patients have recurrent tumors, sometimes as a higher grade. Read More

Phys Med Biol 2018 Nov 9;63(22):225009. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom. Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. Centre for Cancer Research & Cell Biology, Queen's University, Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AE, United Kingdom.

Variations in proton relative biological effectiveness (RBE) with linear energy transfer (LET) remain one of the largest sources of uncertainty in proton radiotherapy. This work seeks to identify metrics which can be applied to mitigate these effects in treatment optimisation, and quantify their effectiveness. Three different metrics-dose, dose  ×  LET and an LET-weighted dose defined as [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is the dose-averaged LET-were compared with in vitro experimental studies of proton RBE and clinical treatment plans incorporating RBE models. Read More

Zh Vopr Neirokhir Im N N Burdenko 2018 ;82(5):104-110

Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute, Moscow, Russia.

Treatment of primary malignant neuroepithelial tumors of the posterior cranial fossa (PCF) in childhood includes surgical resection, radiation therapy (RT), and chemotherapy (CT). The radicalness of surgery is one of the most important prognostic factors of survival. Despite the significant advances in treatment, many of these tumors recur. Read More

Cancer Med 2018 Nov 6. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Department of Neurosurgery, Ren Ji Hospital, Schoolof Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been demonstrated to be involved in various biological processes. Nevertheless, the function of circRNAs in medulloblastoma (MB) is still unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the expression profiles of circRNAs and related mechanisms for regulating the proliferation and growth of tumor cells in MB. Read More

Neurooncol Pract 2018 Nov 17;5(4):234-240. Epub 2018 Feb 17.

Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

Background: Imaging diagnosis of medulloblastoma recurrence relies heavily on identifying new contrast-enhancing lesions on surveillance imaging, with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) being used primarily for detection of complications. We propose that DWI is more sensitive in detecting distal and leptomeningeal recurrent medulloblastoma than T1-weighted postgadolinium imaging.

Methods: We identified 53 pediatric patients with medulloblastoma, 21 of whom developed definitive disease recurrence within the brain. Read More

Bioengineering (Basel) 2018 Nov 4;5(4). Epub 2018 Nov 4.

Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in pediatrics, with rare occurrences of primary and metastatic tumors in the central nervous system (CNS). We previously reported the overexpression of the polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4) in embryonal brain tumors. PLK4 has also been found to be overexpressed in a variety of peripheral adult tumors and recently in peripheral NB. Read More

Cureus 2018 Jul 18;10(7):e3000. Epub 2018 Jul 18.

Department of Pathology, Osceola Regional Medical Center, Orlando, USA.

Medulloblastoma is the most common type of aggressive pediatric primary brain malignancy. This case describes a 45-year-old Hispanic male with no significant past medical history who presented to the emergency department (ED) complaining of 15 days of 10/10 intractable headaches with one day of lightheadedness, confusion, and loss of balance. An urgent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed a 4. Read More

Eur J Radiol 2018 Nov 10;108:43-51. Epub 2018 Sep 10.

Developmental Imaging and Biophysics Section, UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Post-operative paediatric cerebellar mutism syndrome (pCMS) occurs in around 25% of children undergoing surgery for cerebellar and fourth ventricular tumours. Reversible mutism is the hallmark of a syndrome which comprises severe motor, cognitive and linguistic deficits. Recent evidence from advanced neuroimaging studies has led to the current theoretical understanding of the condition as a form of diaschisis contingent on damage to efferent cerebellar circuitry. Read More

Microrna 2018 Nov 4. Epub 2018 Nov 4.

Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta. Italy.

Background: MicroRNA-125a is present in all animals with bilateral symmetry and displays a conserved nucleotide sequence with a section of 11 bases including the seed region that is identical in all considered species. It primarily downregulates the expression of LIN28, thereby promoting cell differentiation and larval phase transitions in nematodes, mammals and insects.

Objective: In this review we focus on the cellular control of miR-125a expression and its antiproliferative activity. Read More

Lancet Oncol 2018 Dec 1;19(12):1602-1616. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Electronic address:

Background: Most children with medulloblastoma fall within the standard-risk clinical disease group defined by absence of high-risk features (metastatic disease, large-cell/anaplastic histology, and MYC amplification), which includes 50-60% of patients and has a 5-year event-free survival of 75-85%. Within standard-risk medulloblastoma, patients in the WNT subgroup are established as having a favourable prognosis; however, outcome prediction for the remaining majority of patients is imprecise. We sought to identify novel prognostic biomarkers to enable improved risk-adapted therapies. Read More

Lancet Oncol 2018 Dec 1;19(12):1548-1549. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00161, Italy.

Nat Commun 2018 11 2;9(1):4651. Epub 2018 Nov 2.

Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, 94305, California, USA.

The original version of this Article omitted Suzana A. Kahn, Siddhartha S. Mitra & Samuel H. Read More

Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2018 Oct 29. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Despite best available therapy, many children with cancer develop recurrence after multimodal treatment, including initial radiation therapy. Re-irradiation is defined as the use of a second course of radiation therapy with a retreatment volume that overlaps substantially with that of a previously delivered course of radiation therapy. Re-irradiation is an important part of salvage treatment for patients with recurrent ependymoma, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, medulloblastoma and germinoma. Read More

Nat Commun 2018 10 31;9(1):4541. Epub 2018 Oct 31.

Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.

Despite improvements in overall survival, only a modest percentage of patients survives high-risk medulloblastoma. The devastating side effects of radiation and chemotherapy substantially reduce quality of life for surviving patients. Here, using genomic screens, we identified miR-584-5p as a potent therapeutic adjuvant that potentiates medulloblastoma to radiation and vincristine. Read More

Neurologist 2018 Nov;23(6):191-193

Departments of Neurology.

We describe a gentleman diagnosed with a posterior fossa medulloblastoma in 1998, successfully treated with craniospinal radiation therapy (RT) and posterior fossa RT boost, followed by 12 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Nineteen years later, at the age of 28, the patient presented with multiple cranial neuropathies and was found to have disseminated high-grade glioma with leptomeningeal dissemination. In addition to the salient features of this case, we provide a brief review of RT-induced malignancies and the need for further research regarding surveillance and prevention strategies. Read More