Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 21, 2026
A Protocol for Rapid Post-mortem Cell Culture of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma DIPG
Published on: March 7, 2017
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: New Pathophysiological Insights and Emerging Therapeutic Targets
Tessa B Johung, Michelle Monje1
1Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics, Pathology, and Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Room G3077, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Background:
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is the leading cause of brain tumor-related death in children, with median survival of less than one year. Despite decades of clinical trials, there has been no improvement in prognosis since the introduction of radiotherapy over thirty years ago.
Objective:
To review the clinical features and current treatment challenges of DIPG, and discuss emerging insights into the unique genomic and epigenomic mechanisms driving DIPG pathogenesis that present new opportunities for the identification of therapeutic targets.
Conclusion:
In recent years, an increased availability of biopsy and rapid autopsy tissue samples for preclinical investigation has combined with the advent of new genomic and epigenomic profiling tools to yield remarkable advancements in our understanding of DIPG disease mechanisms. As well, a deeper understanding of the developmental context of DIPG is shedding light on therapeutic targets in the microenvironment of the childhood brain.
Insights
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) remains a deadly childhood brain cancer with no treatment advances. New genomic and epigenomic insights offer hope for novel therapeutic targets.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric neuro-oncology
- Cancer genomics
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is the primary cause of pediatric brain tumor deaths.
- Median survival for DIPG patients is less than one year.
- Radiotherapy has not improved DIPG prognosis in over 30 years.
Purpose of the Study:
- Review clinical features and treatment challenges of DIPG.
- Discuss emerging insights into DIPG pathogenesis.
- Identify potential therapeutic targets based on genomic and epigenomic mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on DIPG.
- Analysis of recent advancements in genomic and epigenomic profiling.
- Examination of tissue samples from biopsies and rapid autopsies.
Main Results:
- Significant progress in understanding DIPG disease mechanisms.
- Identification of unique genomic and epigenomic drivers of DIPG.
- Insights into the developmental context and microenvironment of DIPG.
Conclusions:
- Advancements in tissue availability and profiling tools have improved DIPG understanding.
- New therapeutic targets are emerging from genomic and epigenomic research.
- Understanding the developmental context offers new strategies for targeting the pediatric brain tumor microenvironment.
