The Epigenetics of Medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor arising in the cerebellum or medulla/brain stem. Despite recent treatment advances, approximately 40% of children experience tumor recurrence and 30% will die from the disease. Several recent studies have shown that various epigenetic enzymes are either mutated or overexpressed in medulloblastoma. Thus, these enzymes are considered drug targets in medulloblastoma. Similarly, small RNAs named microRNAs are attractive for therapeutic intervention since they control expression of medulloblastoma tumor suppressors or oncogenes. Interestingly, strategies to modulate epigenetic enzymes and microRNAs simultaneously may be particularly attractive for medulloblastoma treatment. We highlight that the knowledge of epigenetic enzymes, microRNAs, in addition to kinase and ubiquitin ligase networks is especially important for designing combination therapies in medulloblastoma.