Gene expression data from medulloblastoma tumor samples

Smoothened (SMO)-inhibitors recently entered clinical trials for sonic-hedgehog driven medulloblastoma (SHH-MB). Clinical response appears highly variable. To understand the mechanism(s) of primary resistance and to identify pathways co-operating with aberrant SHH-signaling, we sequenced a large cohort of SHH-MBs across all age groups by sequencing, DNA methylation and expression profiling. Our data show that most adults but only half of the pediatric patients with SHH-MB will respond to SMO inhibition as predicted by molecular analysis of the primary tumor and tested in the SHH-xenografts, demonstrating that the next generation of SMO-inhibitor trials should be based on these predictive biomarkers. To further dissect the biological differences between the different age groups within SHH medulloblastomas, we looked at the transcriptomic profiles of SHH medulloblastoma samples. 73 medulloblastoma samples from patients of various ages were selected for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Arrays.