Interactions Between Immune Microenvironment, Stem Cells, and Cell Proliferation in Pediatric Embryonal Central Nervous System Cancers

Mounting evidence suggests the brain’s own immune cells, microglia, and perivascular macrophages play important roles in immune surveillance/inflammation, but also support proliferation/growth of gliomas, possibly through interactions with tumor stem cells. Immune cells are increasingly regarded as potential targets for cancer therapy, however, the immune microenvironment has not been well-studied in pediatric embryonal CNS tumors.