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 purpose of this project is to provide an insight into the molecular pathology of pLGGs to open new perspectives in pLGG therapeutic targeting through the discovery of microRNAs involved in their initiation and progression. To fulfill this aim, I will perform microRNA profiling on fresh-frozen samples of 45 grade I tumors resected from patients aged