Pediatric CNS tumor

Pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors include anaplastic ependymoma, ganglioglioma, medulloblastoma, meningioma, and optical pathway glioma in NF1 tumors.

Anaplastic Ependymoma

Ependymomas are malignant tumors arising throughout the CNS, located intracranially in 90% of childhood cases, most frequently in the posterior fossa. Treatment is primarily surgical resection and radiotherapy, depending on tumor type and location.

Leblond P et al. (2022)

Ganglioglioma

Gangliogliomas are rare indolent tumors comprised of neoplastic glial and neuronal cells. These tumors occur primarily in children and young adults. Benign lesions tend to be associated with long survival unless the tumor degenerates into a histologically malignant form. They tend to occur in the cerebral cortex but may also be present in the brain stem. They often have similar genetic alterations leading to MAPK pathway activation. BRAF alterations are observed in approximately 50% of ganglioglioma cases. Treatment includes surgery and possibly radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy depending on the tumor type.

NIH - Child astrocytoma glioma treatment

Medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is a type of embryonal tumor. It Is the most common of the malignant CNS tumors in childhood, and it is usually locted in the cerebellum. They are characterised depending on the underlying mutation or histological apperance. Treatment consists of surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, but targeted therapies are also explored. The patients that survive often experience cognitive complications after treatment.

NIH - Child CSN embryonal treatment

Meningioma

Meningioma is a slow-growing and usually non-cancerous tumor that originates in the meninges. While most meningiomas are not cancerous, a small percentage are fast-growing malignant tumors that can cause neurological problems and swelling in the brain. Treatment is surgery and in some cases radiotherapy. The prognosis is generably favorable.

NIH - Meningioma

Dana Farber cancer institute - Childhood meningioma

Tauziède-Espariat A et al. (2023)

Optical Pathway glioma in NF1

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common brain tumor predisposition syndromes, in which affected children are prone to develop low-grade gliomas. While NF1-associated gliomas can be found in several brain regions, the majority arise in the optic nerves, chiasm, tracks, and radiations (optic pathway gliomas; OPGs). Approximately 15–20% of children with NF1 will develop an optic pathway tumor. Owing to their location, 35–50% of affected children present with reduced visual acuity. Unfortunately, despite tumor stabilization following chemotherapy, most children have impaired vision. NF1-OPGs are most often seen in young children.

Campen CJ et al. (2018)

Differential Abundance Analysis Results

This section presents the results of the differential protein abundance analysis, visualized through a volcano plot and summarized in the accompanying table for all three comparisons: 1) disease vs. healthy samples, 2) disease vs. diseases from the same class, and 3) disease vs. all other diseases.