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Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Intracranial Orthotopic Allografting of Medulloblastoma Cells in Immunocompromised Mice
Published on: October 3, 2010
Oncogenic role of cytomegalovirus in medulloblastoma?
Alejandro M Hortal1, Jeroen F Vermeulen1, Wim Van Hecke1
1Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, 3584 CX, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Medulloblastoma is the most common solid tumor among children. Current therapeutic strategies for this malignancy include surgical resection, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, these treatments are accompanied with serious side effects such as neurological complications and psychosocial problems, due to the severity of treatment on the developing nervous system. To solve this problem, novel therapeutic approaches are currently being investigated. One of them is targeting human cytomegalovirus in medulloblastoma cancer cells. However, this approach is still under debate, since the presence of cytomegalovirus in medulloblastomas remains controversial. In this review, we discuss the current controversies on the role of cytomegalovirus in medulloblastoma oncogenesis and the potential of cytomegalovirus as a novel (immuno)therapeutic target.
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