Molecular Characterization of Choroid Plexus Tumors

Researchers at the International Society for Pediatric Oncology frequently encounter specimens of choroid plexus tumors (CPT) and have carried out studies into their molecular characteristics, such as methylation profiling. Methylation occurs when methyl groups, additional molecules, are added to DNA molecules. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. Methylation profiling has shown CPT having three distinct subgroups, but the mutations related to these subgroups is not fully understood. Without understanding the mutational drivers of CPT, there is a chance that opportunities for better diagnostics and new therapies could be missed. That is why researchers seek to identify mutational drivers in CPT such as fusion transcripts. Data from rare, high quality specimens catalogued in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas will be utilized by researchers for this work.