Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 10, 2025
Co-culture of Glutamatergic Neurons and Pediatric High-Grade Glioma Cells Into Microfluidic Devices to Assess Electrical Interactions
Published on: November 17, 2021
Infantile/Congenital High-Grade Gliomas: Molecular Features and Therapeutic Perspectives
Giulia Ceglie1, Maria Vinci1, Andrea Carai2
1Department of Onco-Hematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IRCCS), Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00146 Rome, Italy.
Insights
High-grade gliomas (HGGs) in infants are rare but aggressive brain tumors. Advances in molecular understanding, particularly gene fusions, offer new targeted therapy options to improve infant brain tumor treatment outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Molecular Pathology
Background:
- Infant brain tumors represent less than 10% of pediatric nervous system tumors.
- High-grade gliomas (HGGs) in infants present unique clinical challenges compared to adult or older pediatric counterparts.
- Current treatment relies mainly on surgery, with limited roles for chemotherapy and radiotherapy due to potential long-term effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent diagnostic and therapeutic advancements in infant high-grade gliomas.
- To emphasize the significance of the molecular landscape in understanding and treating these tumors.
- To explore future clinical applications of molecular findings in infant HGGs.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on infant high-grade gliomas.
- Focus on molecular characterization, including gene fusions and receptor tyrosine kinase mutations.
- Analysis of emerging targeted therapies and their potential impact.
Main Results:
- Molecular characterization of infant HGGs is crucial for understanding their unique biology.
- Neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) gene fusions are identified in infant HGGs.
- Targeted therapies, including those against NTRK fusions, show promise for improved outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Molecular insights are transforming the therapeutic approach to infant high-grade gliomas.
- Targeted therapies represent a paradigm shift, potentially improving long-term prognoses.
- Further research into the molecular landscape will guide future clinical strategies for infant brain tumors.
Abstract:
Brain tumors in infants account for less than 10% of all pediatric nervous system tumors. They include tumors diagnosed in fetal age, neonatal age and in the first years of life. Among these, high-grade gliomas (HGGs) are a specific entity with a paradoxical clinical course that sets them apart from their pediatric and adult counterparts. Currently, surgery represents the main therapeutic strategy in the management of these tumors. Chemotherapy does not have a well-defined role whilst radiotherapy is rarely performed, considering its late effects. Information about molecular characterization is still limited, but it could represent a new fundamental tool in the therapeutic perspective of these tumors. Chimeric proteins derived from the fusion of several genes with neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase mutations have been described in high-grade gliomas in infants as well as in neonatal age and the recent discovery of targeted drugs may change the long-term prognosis of these tumors, along with other target-driven therapies. The aim of this mini review is to highlight the recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of high-grade gliomas in infants with a particular focus on the molecular landscape of these neoplasms and future clinical applications.
