Beijing Children's Hospital guidelines on the design and conduction of the first standardized database for medulloblastoma.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is one of the most common malignant childhood brain tumors (WHO grade IV). Its high degree of malignancy leads to an unsatisfactory prognosis, requiring more precise and personalized treatment in the near future. Multi-omics and artificial intelligence have been playing a significant role in precise medical research, but their implementation needs a large amount of clinical information and biomaterials. For these reasons, it is urgent for current MB researchers to establish a large sample-size database of MB that contains complete clinical data and sufficient biomaterials such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), cancer tissue, and urine. Unfortunately, there are few biobanks of pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors throughout the world for limited specimens, scarce funds, different standards collecting methods and et cl. Even though, China falls behind western countries in this area. The present research set up a standard workflow to construct the Beijing Children's Hospital Medulloblastoma (BCH-MB) biobank. Clinical data from children with MB and for collecting and storing biomaterials, along with regular follow-up has been collected and recorded in this database. In the future, the BCH-MB biobank could make it possible to validate the promising biomarkers already identified, discover unrevealed MB biomarkers, develop novel therapies, and establish personalized prognostic models for children with MB upon the support of its sufficient data and biomaterials, laying the foundation for individualized therapies of children with MB.

Male Predisposition in Cerebellar Mutism Syndrome: a Cohort Study.

The aim of this study was to explore the association between sex and cerebellar mutism syndrome and to examine other potential risk factors. This ambispective cohort study examined 218 pediatric patients (132 boys) with a posterior fossa tumor who underwent tumor resection from July 2013 to March 2021. The patients' demographics and tumor characteristics were examined and statistically analyzed to explore the associations among the variables. Multivariable and subgroup analyses were conducted to validate the independent risk factors for cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS). The male and female patients did not differ significantly in terms of age, tumor size, tumor location, tumor consistency, VP shunt placement before resection, extent of resection, or surgeon, as well as with respect to the presence of hydrocephalus or paraventricular edema. The overall incidence of CMS was 32.6%. The incidence of CMS was significantly higher in male patients than that in female patients (41.7% vs. 18.6%; P = 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, male sex (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 3.27; P = 0.001), solid tumor consistency (adjusted OR, 5.61; P = 0.001), midline location (adjusted OR, 3.78; P = 0.004), and hydrocephalus (adjusted OR, 2.56; P = 0.047) were independent risk factors for the CMS. Chi-square analysis revealed that solid tumor consistency and midline location were associated with medulloblastoma (P < 0.001). Male patients had a higher risk of developing CMS after a posterior fossa tumor resection. Midline location, solid tumor consistency, and hydrocephalus were independent risk factors for CMS.