ACADEMIA Letters
Combining anti-CD47 immunotherapy with the standard
of care therapy to treat medulloblastoma, a malignant
pediatric brain tumor
Osama Youssef, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Univeristy of Utah
Samuel Cheshier, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Univeristy of Utah
Medulloblastoma:
Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant primary pediatric tumor of the cerebellum
in the brain. There are four primary molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma: Wingless
(WNT), hedgehog (SHH), group 3, and group 4 (1). The classifcation is mainly based on
gene expression and methylation analyses, and each group has diferent clinical outcomes.
The Group 3 molecular subgroup of medulloblastoma is the deadliest, with only 30%
long-term survival (1). In addition, medulloblastoma group 3 is associated with the highest
rate of metastasis and the worst survival outcomes of any subgroup.
Current treatment includes maximal surgical removal followed by craniospinal radiation
and chemotherapy. Only treatment regimens, including Temozolomide chemotherapy and/or
radiotherapy, consistently led to long-term remissions, but the side efects of these treatments
are often devastating to children. Therefore, treatments that can reduce Temozolomide and
radiation doses and retain the same or greater efcacy are needed.
Standard of Care Treatment of Medulloblastoma:
The main types of treatment used to treat medulloblastoma include surgery, radiotherapy, and
Temozolomide chemotherapy.
Academia Letters, June 2021
Corresponding Author: Osama Youssef, oayoussef@gmail.com
Citation: Youssef, O., Cheshier, S. (2021). Combining anti-CD47 immunotherapy with the standard of care
therapy to treat medulloblastoma, a malignant pediatric brain tumor. Academia Letters, Article 1247.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1247.
1
©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0