Ricerc@Sapienza

Pediatric Low Grade Gliomas (pLGGs) are the most common pediatric brain tumours. Among them, non-resectable tumours remain a major clinical challenge due to the high frequency of relapses. Residual or recurrent tumours can be treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy regimens, however these approaches are non-curative and carry significant risks and side effects.
Despite progress in understanding the molecular landscape of pLGGs, the underlying cell signaling mechanisms that sustain their growth are not fully understood, therefore recent studies started to explore the clinical utility of epigenetic changes in Central Nervous System (CNS) tumours. The project aims to identify circulating plasma biomarkers of pLGG patients to allow early detection of disease, predict progression and / or response to surgical and / or pharmacological therapy. Starting from the results obtained from the microRNAs profile in my previous work, I will proceed to confirm the presence in the plasma of the microRNAs found up-regulated in the diseased tissues compared to the control tissues. Subsequently, a prospective study will be performed, recruiting plasma of pLGG to the diagnosis and after 6 months from the operation. For these patients also the levels of the identified microRNAs will be evaluated in order to define the first circulating biomarkers of low-grade pediatric gliomas.