title: New perspectives in the treatment of adult medulloblastoma in the era of molecular oncology.
abstract: Medulloblastoma is the most common central nervous system tumor in children, while it is extremely rare in adults. Multimodal treatment involving surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can improve the prognosis of this disease, and recent advances in molecular biology have allowed the identification of molecular subgroups (WNT, SHH, Groups 3 and 4), each of which have different cytogenetic, mutational and gene expression signatures, demographics, histology and prognosis. The present review focuses on the state of the art for adult medulloblastoma treatment and on novel molecular advances and their future implications in the treatment of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Bellaria-Maggiore Hospitals, Azienda USL - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: alba.brandes@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Alba A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Brandes
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Bellaria-Maggiore Hospitals, Azienda USL - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartolotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DiBiNeM), University, of Bologna, Section of Pathology, M. Malpighi, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marucci
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, Verona Hospital, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ghimenton
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Bellaria-Maggiore Hospitals, Azienda USL - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agati
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Bellaria Hospital - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Azienda USL, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fioravanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy Unit, CRO, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mascarin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Neurosurgery, San Bortolo Hospital, Vicenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Volpin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery I, Careggi University Hospital, Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ammannati
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Masotto
authors.affiliation: Surgical Pathology & Cytopathology Unit, Department of Medicine (DIMED), University Hospital, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina Paola
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gardiman
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (DIMES) - Anatomic Pathology Unit, Bellaria Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Biase
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (DIMES) - Anatomic Pathology Unit, Bellaria Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tallini
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Parma University Hospital, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Girolamo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Bellaria-Maggiore Hospitals, Azienda USL - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bartolini
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Bellaria-Maggiore Hospitals, Azienda USL - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Franceschi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Adults; Medulloblastoma; SHH; Treatment; WNT