The Medulloblastoma Meta-Analysis Portal Enables Integrative Exploration of Clinical and Genomic Data from Patients

Medulloblastoma is a prevalent, highly heterogeneous malignant pediatric brain cancer. In this study, we developed the Medulloblastoma Meta-Analysis portal, a web-based data analysis and visualization platform that consolidates clinical, molecular, and survival data of 898 patients from three major clinical trials (ACNS0331, ACNS0332, and SJMB03). The portal integrated clinical data with genomic mutations and DNA methylomes, enabling in-depth analyses of tumor subgroups and survival outcomes. Dynamic exploration and custom stratification of these data were made possible by the portal's user-friendly visualization tools powered by the ProteinPaint framework, allowing users to select from a wide range of variables or customize their own. The Cox regression analysis tool in the portal demonstrated utility in examining the prognostic impact of variables across a heterogeneous dataset. Additionally, an in-depth exploration of medulloblastomas that harbor KBTBD4 mutations and their corresponding methylomes generated leads that could help improve molecular classification. These use cases underscore the portal's utility in enhancing risk stratification, informing tailored therapeutic strategies, and revealing the complexities of molecular heterogeneity in patients with medulloblastoma. The portal, along with links to the tutorials and live figures, is freely available at https://viz.stjude.cloud/st-jude-childrens-research-hospital/visualization/medulloblastoma-integrative-analysis-portal~2882.

The MB-meta portal facilitates risk stratification of patients using molecular, genomic, clinical, and demographic data, representing a significant step in neuro-oncology data sharing by offering an intuitive web-based platform for complex analyses.