Approved Research

The Role of Genetic Factors in Ependymoma and Medulloblastoma Susceptibility

Lay summary

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children. They are also a leading cause of cancer deaths in children. Medulloblastoma and ependymoma are two histological types of brain tumors.
Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Ependymoma is the third most common type of childhood brain tumor and also occurs in adults. Limited knowledge is available on the role of genetics in development of these types of brain tumors. Therefore, we aim to conduct studies to determine if variation in a person's genes is associated to their risk of medulloblastoma and ependymoma. To perform the proposed studies, a large number of samples are needed. In addition, we need additional sets of cases and controls to confirm our findings.

Our proposed studies will include data or samples from several large institutions and/or consortia. Adding the available genetic data at UK Biobank to the available data from other sources, will provide the sample size which is needed to perform the proposed studies.
The estimated duration of the project is 3 years. This includes performing the statistical analysis for the UK Biobank data and combining those results with the results from the other institutions/consortia.
We will publish the results in scientific journals. These studies will provide evidence of genetic risk factors (markers) for brain tumors. They will also provide a basis to better understand the factors that could lead to prevention of these tumors.
In addition, the genetic results could help us better categorize patients with these tumors to guide their treatment. Therefore, the studies have large public health impacts.