Background: Present treatment of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children, includes surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In spite of radical treatment, only about 70% of patients survive. Also side effects of the treatment are severe, mostly due to applied radiotherapy.
Objective: The following review highlights potential molecular targets for pharmacotherapy of medulloblastoma, as well as the directions in which, in the authors' opinion, the field will evolve in near future.
Methods: Present literature on pathways engaged in formation of medulloblastoma is summarized in the context of their available pharmacological modulators.
Results: The quest for a better treatment modalities includes better risk stratification methods, including molecular profiling of individual tumors and a search for new small molecules capable of inhibiting hyperactive signaling pathways. Several candidates for such agents are being tested presently.