Methylation 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 DNA methylation profiles of SHH medulloblastoma samples. We investigated the DNA methylation profiles of 83 SHH medulloblastomas across all age groups using the Illumina 450k methylation array.