Identification of Circulating Noncoding RNAs and Metabolites in Cerebrospinal Fluid(CSF) in Medulloblastoma Patients

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common pediatric brain tumor arising in the cerebellum and has a propensity to affect younger male patients. Treatment options for MB patients depend upon several factors including, type, stage, and location of the tumor and overall patient health. Common treatment strategies include surgical removal, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, pharmacological treatment, and stem cell/bone marrow transplantation. However, patients are at risk for side effects including neurocognitive impairment and endocrine disabilities. Unfortunately, like many other cancers, accurate tumor detection, tumor metastasis, and drug resistance are a serious issue, and until today, no effective solutions are proposed to solve the above problems in MB. The primary focus of this project is to identify molecular markers used to differentiate medulloblastoma subtypes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Identification of such markers is necessary to predict outcomes, understand disease progression using minimally invasive procedures and pursue new therapy options. The CSF samples necessary to complete this work will be provided by the Children’s Brain Tumor Network.