{"id":22195,"date":"2020-04-01T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=22195"},"modified":"2025-04-23T16:06:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:06:43","slug":"brain-tumours-in-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding brain tumours in children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>This is a joint press release from EMBL, the Hopp Children\u2019s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), and the German Cancer Consortium.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastomas \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary. These are the findings of a recent genetic analysis carried out by scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and numerous colleagues around the world. A genetic defect that occurs in 15 percent of these children plays a key role by destabilising the production of proteins. The researchers suspect that protein metabolism defects could be a previously underestimated cause of other types of cancer. The results have been published on 1 April in the scientific journal <em>Nature<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medulloblastomas\nare among the most common malignant brain tumours affecting children. They\nspread from the cerebellum to the surrounding tissue and can also spread to\nother parts of the central nervous system via the cerebrospinal fluid. Because\nthese tumours grow rapidly, physicians do not have much time to find a suitable\ntreatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers from EMBL, together with colleagues from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kitz-heidelberg.de\/en\/\">Hopp Children\u2019s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ)<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/dktk.dkfz.de\/en\/home\">German Cancer Consortium<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stjude.org\/\">St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital<\/a> have conducted the most comprehensive medulloblastoma-related genetic investigation to date. \u201cWe analysed the genome and tumour genome of 800 children, adolescents, and adults with medulloblastoma and compared the genetic data with data from healthy individuals,\u201d explains lead author Dr. Sebastian Waszak, an EMBL postdoc at the time of the study; now a group leader at Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway \u2013 one of the nodes of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.embl.de\/research\/partnerships\/remote\/nordic\">Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In characterising\nthe molecular properties of medulloblastoma, the scientists hope to be able to\nrecommend other treatment options besides standard therapies, and to develop\nnew therapies with a focus on the mode of action. In analysing the healthy and\nmutated genome, they came across a particularly striking hereditary difference\nin children and young people with brain tumours in the so-called Sonic Hedgehog\nmedulloblastoma subgroup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A hereditary genetic defect in 15 percent of cases meant that tumours were no longer able to produce the elongator complex protein 1 (ELP1). This protein is involved in ensuring that other proteins are properly assembled and folded in line with the genetic code. The latest findings show that, without ELP1, much of the protein production in tumours is disturbed: \u201cThe assembly and folding of larger proteins in particular does not function properly any more, and the accumulation of these non-functioning or malfunctioning proteins places the cells under permanent stress,\u201d says KiTZ Director Dr. Stefan Pfister. \u201cHundreds of proteins are misregulated in this way, including proteins that are important for nerve cell development.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By analysing the genomes of some of the parents and grandparents of study participants, the researchers also established that this novel genetic disease is hereditary. \u201cThat makes this the most common congenital genetic defect associated with medulloblastoma to date,\u201d says Dr. Jan Korbel, a co-author of the study and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/research\/units\/genome_biology\/korbel\/index.html\">group leader at EMBL Heidelberg<\/a>. Sebastian Waszak, now a group leader at the Norwegian node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, adds: \u201cThe latest results show that around 40 percent of children and young people who suffer from this subtype of medulloblastoma have a congenital genetic predisposition for it. That is a much higher proportion than we had assumed.\u201d Identifying hereditary causes of cancer in advance can help to make the right therapeutic decision and can reduce the risk of relapse in children. \u201cFor example, in the case of a hereditary predisposition for DNA breaks, certain chemotherapies or radiotherapy can lead to secondary tumours. In such cases, the first disease should not be treated too aggressively,&#8221; says Stefan Pfister. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"vf-box vf-box--inlay\">\n\n  <h3 class=\"vf-box__heading\">Source article<\/h3>\n  <p class=\"vf-box__text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-020-2164-5\">S. Waszak, G. Robinson, et al. Germline Elongator mutations in Sonic Hedgehog medulloblastoma. <em>Nature<\/em>, published on 01 April 2020.<br \/>DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-020-2164-5<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"vf-box vf-box--inlay\">\n\n  <h3 class=\"vf-box__heading\">Related links<\/h3>\n  <p class=\"vf-box__text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/research\/units\/genome_biology\/korbel\/index.html\">Korbel group<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/campaigns\/pancancer\/index.html\">The Pan-Cancer project<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kitz-heidelberg.de\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hopp Children\u2019s Cancer Center Heidelberg<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/dktk.dkfz.de\/en\/home\" target=\"_blank\">German Cancer Consortium<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stjude.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"vf-divider\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"de\">Gehirntumore in Kindern verstehen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Erblicher Gendefekt bringt die Eiwei\u00dfregulation aus dem Gleichgewicht<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Bei einem bestimmten Typ von Medulloblastomen \u2013 gef\u00e4hrlichen Hirntumoren bei Kindern \u2013 sind die Ursachen in 40 Prozent aller F\u00e4lle angeboren. Dies sind die Ergebnisse einer k\u00fcrzlich durchgef\u00fchrten genetischen Analyse, die von Wissenschaftlern des Europ\u00e4ischen Laboratoriums f\u00fcr Molekularbiologie (EMBL) und zahlreichen Kollegen aus aller Welt durchgef\u00fchrt wurde. Eine besondere Rolle spielt dabei ein genetischer Defekt, der bei 15 Prozent dieser Kinder auftritt und dazu f\u00fchrt, dass die Produktion und der Abbau von Eiwei\u00dfen aus dem Gleichgewicht geraten. Die Wissenschaftler vermuten jetzt, dass St\u00f6rungen im Proteinhaushalt eine bislang untersch\u00e4tzte Ursache auch bei anderen Tumorarten sein k\u00f6nnten. Die Ergebnisse wurden am 1. April in der wissenschaftlichen Zeitschrift Nature ver\u00f6ffentlicht.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"630\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-1024x630.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-1024x630.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-768x472.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"vf-figure__caption\">Bildnachweis: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Das Medulloblastom geh\u00f6rt zu den h\u00e4ufigsten b\u00f6sartigen Hirntumoren bei Kindern. Sie breiten sich vom Kleinhirn auf das umgebende Gewebe aus und k\u00f6nnen sich die Gehirn-R\u00fcckenmark-Fl\u00fcssigkeit auch auf andere Teile des Zentralnervensystems streuen. Da diese Tumore schnell wachsen, bleibt den \u00c4rzten nicht viel Zeit, um eine geeignete Behandlung zu finden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forscher des EMBL f\u00fchrten zusammen mit Kollegen des&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kitz-heidelberg.de\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hopp-Kindertumorzentrums Heidelberg (KiTZ)<\/a>, des&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dktk.dkfz.de\/de\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Deutschen Krebskonsortiums<\/a>&nbsp;und des&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stjude.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital<\/a>&nbsp;die bisher umfassendste genetische Untersuchung zum Medulloblastom durch. &#8220;Wir haben das Genom und das Tumorgenom von 800 Heranwachsenden und Erwachsenen mit Medulloblastom analysiert und die genetischen Daten mit den Daten von gesunden Personen verglichen&#8221;, erkl\u00e4rt der Hauptautor Dr. Sebastian Waszak vom EMBL, der auch am vom EMBL geleiteten&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/campaigns\/pancancer\/german-version\/index.html\">Pan-Cancer-Projekt<\/a>&nbsp;beteiligt war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mit der Charakterisierung der molekularen Eigenschaften des Medulloblastoms hoffen sie, neben den Standardtherapien auch andere Behandlungsoptionen empfehlen zu k\u00f6nnen und neue Therapien mit Schwerpunkt auf der Wirkungsweise zu entwickeln.&nbsp; Bei der Analyse des gesunden und mutierten Genoms stie\u00dfen sie bei Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Hirntumoren in der so genannten Schalligel-Medulloblastom-Untergruppe auf einen besonders auff\u00e4lligen erblichen Unterschied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ein vererbter Gendefekt f\u00fchrte in 15 Prozent der F\u00e4lle dazu, dass die Tumore nicht mehr in der Lage waren, das Elongatorkomplex-Protein 1 (ELP1) zu produzieren. Dieses Protein hilft dabei, dass andere Proteine entsprechend dem genetischen Code richtig zusammengesetzt und gefaltet werden. Neueste Erkenntnisse zeigen, dass ohne ELP1 ein Gro\u00dfteil der Proteinproduktion in Tumoren gest\u00f6rt ist.&nbsp;<em>\u201eBesonders der Zusammenbau und die Faltung gr\u00f6\u00dferer Proteine funktioniert nicht mehr richtig und die Anh\u00e4ufung dieser funktionslosen oder funktionsver\u00e4nderten Proteine setzt die Zelle permanent unter Stress,\u201c<\/em>&nbsp;sagt KiTZ-Leiter Dr. Stefan Pfister.&nbsp;<em>\u201eEtwa Hunderte von Eiwei\u00dfen sind auf diese Weise fehlreguliert, darunter auch Proteine, die f\u00fcr die Nervenzell-Entwicklung wichtig sind.\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Durch die Analyse des Genoms einiger Eltern und Gro\u00dfeltern stellten die Forscher auch fest, dass diese neuartige genetische Krankheit vererbbar ist. \u201e<em>Damit ist dies der bislang h\u00e4ufigste angeborene Gendefekt, der mit dem Medulloblastom in Zusammenhang gebracht werden konnte,\u201c<\/em> sagt Dr. Jan Korbel, Mitautor der Studie und&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/research\/units\/genome_biology\/korbel\/index.html\">Gruppenleiter am EMBL Heidelberg<\/a>. Sebastian Waszak, jetzt Gruppenleiter am norwegischen Knotenpunkt der Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, f\u00fcgt hinzu:&nbsp;<em>\u201eDie aktuellen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass etwa 40 Prozent der Kinder und Jugendlichen, die an einem Medulloblastom dieses Subtyps leiden, eine angeborene genetische Veranlagung daf\u00fcr haben. Das ist deutlich h\u00f6her, als wir bislang vermutet hatten.\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Die fr\u00fchzeitige Identifizierung der erblichen Krebsursachen kann helfen, die richtige therapeutische Entscheidung zu treffen und das Risiko eines R\u00fcckfalls bei Kindern zu verringern.&nbsp;<em>\u201eBeispielsweise k\u00f6nnen bei einer erblichen Veranlagung zu DNA-Br\u00fcchen, bestimmte Chemotherapien oder Strahlentherapie zu Sekund\u00e4rtumoren f\u00fchren. In solchen F\u00e4llen sollte man die erste Erkrankung nicht zu aggressiv behandelt,\u201c<\/em>&nbsp;sagt Stefan Pfister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"vf-box vf-box--inlay\">\n\n  <h3 class=\"vf-box__heading\">Quellenartikel<\/h3>\n  <p class=\"vf-box__text\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-020-2164-5\" target=\"_blank\">S. Waszak, G. Robinson, et al. Germline Elongator mutations in Sonic Hedgehog medulloblastoma.\u00a0<em>Nature<\/em>, published on 01 April 2020.<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-020-2164-5\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-020-2164-5<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"vf-box vf-box--inlay\">\n\n  <h3 class=\"vf-box__heading\">Links<\/h3>\n  <p class=\"vf-box__text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/research\/units\/genome_biology\/korbel\/index.html\">Korbel Gruppe<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/campaigns\/pancancer\/index.html\">Das Pan Cancer Projekt<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kitz-heidelberg.de\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hopp Kindertumorzentrum Heidelberg<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/dktk.dkfz.de\/de\/home\" target=\"_blank\">Deutsches Konsortium f\u00fcr Translationale Krebsforschung<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stjude.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary. These are the findings of a recent genetic analysis carried out by scientists from EMBL and numerous colleagues around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":22205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17591],"tags":[38,43,420,624,19493,110],"embl_taxonomy":[18961,19305],"class_list":["post-22195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-science-technology","tag-cancer","tag-heidelberg","tag-korbel","tag-medulloblastoma","tag-ncmbm","tag-nordic-embl-partnership","embl_taxonomy-jan-korbel","embl_taxonomy-korbel-group"],"acf":{"article_intro":"<p>Hereditary genetic defect destabilises protein production<\/p>\n","featured":true,"article_sources":false,"related_links":false,"color":"#007B53","show_featured_image":false,"vf_locked":false,"in_this_article":false,"youtube_url":"","mp4_url":"","video_caption":"","translations":[{"translation_language":"German","translation_anchor":"#de"}],"press_contact":"EMBL Generic","vfwp-news_embl_taxonomy":[18961,19305],"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"source_article":false,"article_translations":false,"languages":""},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[{"uuid":"a:2:{i:0;s:36:\"4428d1fd-441a-4d6d-a1c5-5dcf5665f213\";i:1;s:36:\"91a06afc-5474-41e8-8004-bb012fc1d562\";}","parents":[],"name":["Jan Korbel"],"slug":"jan-korbel","description":"Who &gt; Jan Korbel"},{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"fe59a59f-fd7d-49b3-b3e4-bdd33a6642c3\";i:2;s:36:\"ea772278-0afe-4a84-8ef0-0f426d78ea42\";}","parents":[],"name":["Korbel Group"],"slug":"korbel-group","description":"What &gt; Genome Biology &gt; Korbel Group"}],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Understanding brain tumours in children | EMBL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understanding brain tumours in children | EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-01T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-23T14:06:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mathias J\u00e4ger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@embl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@embl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mathias J\u00e4ger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mathias J\u00e4ger\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/63a0ca26daa6707834de41dfddfc6a42\"},\"headline\":\"Understanding brain tumours in children\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-01T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-23T14:06:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/\"},\"wordCount\":1219,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cancer\",\"heidelberg\",\"korbel\",\"medulloblastoma\",\"ncmbm\",\"nordic embl partnership\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science\",\"Science &amp; Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/\",\"name\":\"Understanding brain tumours in children | EMBL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-01T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-23T14:06:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1574,\"caption\":\"The brain of a kid, the cerebellum is highlighted. Credit: Shutterstock\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory News\",\"description\":\"News from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"EMBL News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory\",\"alternateName\":\"EMBL\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":144,\"caption\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/embl\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embl_org\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/15813\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/emblmedia\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/63a0ca26daa6707834de41dfddfc6a42\",\"name\":\"Mathias J\u00e4ger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27f7c42ef9a429b6b300894806fa49bc7953da8977d6a06fc5b7250eb166ffe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27f7c42ef9a429b6b300894806fa49bc7953da8977d6a06fc5b7250eb166ffe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mathias J\u00e4ger\"},\"description\":\"Mathias J\u00e4ger has a PhD in astronomy and a passion for science communication. This brought him from the macro to the microworld.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/author\/mathias-jager-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Understanding brain tumours in children | EMBL","description":"The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Understanding brain tumours in children | EMBL","og_description":"The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/","og_site_name":"EMBL","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/","article_published_time":"2020-04-01T15:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-23T14:06:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1574,"url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mathias J\u00e4ger","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@embl","twitter_site":"@embl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mathias J\u00e4ger","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/"},"author":{"name":"Mathias J\u00e4ger","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/63a0ca26daa6707834de41dfddfc6a42"},"headline":"Understanding brain tumours in children","datePublished":"2020-04-01T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-23T14:06:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/"},"wordCount":1219,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg","keywords":["cancer","heidelberg","korbel","medulloblastoma","ncmbm","nordic embl partnership"],"articleSection":["Science","Science &amp; Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/","name":"Understanding brain tumours in children | EMBL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2020-04-01T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-23T14:06:43+00:00","description":"The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma \u2013 dangerous brain tumours affecting children \u2013 are hereditary.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/brain-tumours-in-children\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1574,"caption":"The brain of a kid, the cerebellum is highlighted. Credit: Shutterstock"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/","name":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory News","description":"News from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization"},"alternateName":"EMBL News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization","name":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory","alternateName":"EMBL","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png","width":300,"height":144,"caption":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/","https:\/\/x.com\/embl","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embl_org\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/15813\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/emblmedia\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/63a0ca26daa6707834de41dfddfc6a42","name":"Mathias J\u00e4ger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27f7c42ef9a429b6b300894806fa49bc7953da8977d6a06fc5b7250eb166ffe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27f7c42ef9a429b6b300894806fa49bc7953da8977d6a06fc5b7250eb166ffe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mathias J\u00e4ger"},"description":"Mathias J\u00e4ger has a PhD in astronomy and a passion for science communication. This brought him from the macro to the microworld.","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/author\/mathias-jager-2\/"}]}},"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NeuroBrain-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22195"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74377,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22195\/revisions\/74377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22195"},{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=22195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}