Molecular Insights into Pediatric Brain Tumors: Unraveling the Complexity of Pathogenesis and Identifying New Therapeutic Targets

Dear Colleagues,

Brain tumor remains the number one cause of cancer-related death in children. Despite advances in genetic and epigenetic analysis and successful molecular subtyping over the past decade, our understanding of pediatric tumor biology is still at its infancy and there has been very limited progresses in developing new and effective therapies. Radiation remains the mainstay for nearly all types of childhood brain tumors. In addition to the discovery of biological differences between pediatric and adult brain tumors and diverse heterogeneities even within the same pathological entities, pediatric brain tumors often carry fewer gene mutations and are driven by epigenetic abnormalities.

While there is an urgent need of new and more in-depth studies on tumor biology, pediatric brain cancers as a group are rare tumors and the study results are frequently scattered in different journals. The purpose of this Special Issue is to create a platform to support the rapid publication of new findings and assemble a collection set of research papers to facilitate efficient and broad distributions. Reports on tumorigenesis investigation, analysis of genetic and epigenetic abnormalities, development of targeted therapy, identification of diagnostic markers and mechanistic examination of therapy responsiveness are all welcome. Study materials can be cultured cells, animal models or patient tumor tissues. Defining the cell of origin of tumor initiation or of critical malignant phenotypes (invasion and metastasis), and understanding molecular mechanisms of therapy resistance and tumor relapse, as well as deciphering biological determinants of cancer disparity are also highly desired. 

Prof. Dr. Xiao-Nan Li
Dr. Holly Lindsay
Guest Editors

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• brain tumor
• pediatric tumor biology
• molecular subtyping
• radiation therapy
• genetic and epigenetic abnormalities
• tumorigenesis investigation
• targeted therapy
• diagnostic markers
• therapy resistance
• tumor relapse