Elucidating the Somatic Epigenetic Landscape of Pediatric Meningioma and Schwannoma

Meningioma is the most common primary brain tumor in adults and some patients experience local recurrence. Both Meningiomas and Schwannomas are rare in the pediatric population with Schwannomas having the ability to arise from any nerve in the body. Typically, pediatric meningiomas and schwannomas are thought to be likely associated with genetic disorders such as neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF-2), Gorlin syndrome, or Rubenstein-Taybi syndrome. The molecular classification is poorly understudied in both pediatric meningiomas and pediatric schwannomas and there is an urgent need to better understand the biology of these tumors in order to find effective therapies. This research will map for the first time, the epigenome, the chemical compounds that can tell the genome what to do, of pediatric Meningiomas and Schwannomas. The comprehensive analysis of pediatric meningiomas and schwannomas may identify novel targets for therapies or predict which patients may be susceptible to local recurrence. This project can only be completed with the use of rare pediatric meningioma and schwannoma samples provided by the Children’s Brain Tumor Network.