Pediatric tumors of the CNS are the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. In pediatric pathology, brain tumors constitute the most frequent solid malignancy. An unparalleled outburst of information in pediatric neuro-oncology research has been witnessed over the last few years, largely due to increased use of high-throughput technologies such as genomics, proteomics and meta-analysis tools. Input from these technologies gives scientists the advantage of early prognosis assessment, more accurate diagnosis and prospective curative intent in the pediatric brain tumor clinical setting. The present review aims to summarize current knowledge on research applying proteomics techniques or proteomics-based approaches performed on pediatric brain tumors. Proteins that can be used as potential disease markers or molecular targets, and their biological significance, are herein listed and discussed. Furthermore, future perspectives that proteomics technologies may offer regarding this devastating disorder are presented.
Keywords: astrocytoma; childhood CNS tumors; ependymoma; mass spectrometry; medulloblastoma; pediatric brain tumor; proteomics.