Brain tumors are a major cause of death in children and young adults, despite standard-of care treatment. Indeed, the mechanisms by which brain tumors develop are to date insufficiently known. The Jabado lab has previously shown that some brain tumors in children have rare features at the molecular level, called histone mutations. Our project is mostly interested in a subgroup of these rare brain tumors, called “G34-mutant”.

After diagnosis, patients may undergo surgery to remove the tumor. This material is then

sent to pathologists, who look at the tumor under the microscope to assess the shape and structure of tumor cells and their surroundings. Although this has been the main approach to characterize tumors for several decades, recent technologies have been allowed pathologists to study tumor samples at a much higher resolution, down to the molecular level.

Our project is part of a worldwide effort to apply these novel technologies to previously

diagnosed G34-mutant brain tumor samples. We aim to provide the very first data of this kind on a devastating tumor type, in the hope of not only discovering new mechanisms driving the tumors in research labs, but also proving that these new technologies may be an essential tool to better diagnose patients in tomorrow’s clinical practice.