Medulloblastoma initiation and spread: Where neurodevelopment, microenvironment and cancer cross pathways

Medulloblastomas are the most common malignant pediatric brain tumors. Over the past several decades, a wide range of tumor‐centric studies have identified genes and their regulators within signaling pathways that promote medulloblastoma growth. This review aims to raise awareness that transdiscipli...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neuroscience research 2016-12, Vol.94 (12), p.1511-1519
Main Authors: Martirosian, Vahan, Chen, Thomas C., Lin, Michelle, Neman, Josh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cerebellar Neoplasms - pathology
Cerebellar Neoplasms - physiopathology
Humans
medulloblastoma
Medulloblastoma - pathology
Medulloblastoma - physiopathology
metastasis
microenvironment
Neoplasm Metastasis
Nervous System - growth & development
neurodevelopment
Signal Transduction
tumor initiation
Tumor Microenvironment
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Medulloblastomas are the most common malignant pediatric brain tumors. Over the past several decades, a wide range of tumor‐centric studies have identified genes and their regulators within signaling pathways that promote medulloblastoma growth. This review aims to raise awareness that transdisciplinary research between developmental neurobiology and cancer foundations can advance our current understanding of how the nervous system contributes to medulloblastomas. By leveraging current advances in neurodevelopment, microenvironment (including secreted neuropeptides), neurotransmitters, and axon guidance cues, we can uncover novel mechanisms used by the nervous system to promote medulloblastoma growth and spread. This will ultimately result in development of improved strategies for cancer prevention and treatment of pediatric patients with this devastating disease. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:0360-4012
1097-4547
DOI:10.1002/jnr.23917