BRAF inhibitor monotherapy in BRAFV600E-mutated pediatric low-grade glioma: a single center's experience.

Background: Pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGGs) have an overall survival of over 90%; however, patients harboring a BRAF alteration may have worse outcomes, particularly when treated with classic chemotherapy. Combined BRAF/MEK inhibition following incomplete resection demonstrated improved outcome in BRAF altered pLGG compared to combined carboplatin/vincristine chemotherapy and is now considered the standard FDA-approved treatment for this group of tumors. The aim herein was to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of single agent BRAF inhibitor treatment in BRAF altered pLGG.

Chronic AMPK inactivation slows SHH medulloblastoma progression by inhibiting mTORC1 signaling and depleting tumor stem cells.

We show that inactivating AMPK in a genetic medulloblastoma model depletes tumor stem cells and slows progression. In medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, drug-resistant stem cells co-exist with transit-amplifying cells and terminally differentiated neuronal progeny. Prior studies show that -dependent glycolysis promotes medulloblastoma progression by suppressing neural differentiation.