Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41563525›Full record

ArticleJournal of neuro-oncology2026

Profiling T-cell activity and exclusion in pediatric medulloblastoma highlights immunotherapy-responsive subgroups.

Shaan Bhandarkar, Matteo Palermo, Charles Wu, Saket Myneni, Saahith Potluri, Arjit Singh, Connor Liu, A Karim Ahmed, Debraj Mukherjee

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Article in Journal of neuro-oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Shaan BhandarkarDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Matteo PalermoDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Charles WuDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Saket MyneniDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Saahith PotluriDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Arjit SinghDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Connor LiuDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
A Karim AhmedDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Debraj MukherjeeDepartment of Neurosurgery, Khatib Brain Tumor Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. dmukher1@jhmi.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeMedulloblastomas are aggressive pediatric brain tumors. Whereas Wnt-driven tumors are associated with a favorable prognosis, other molecular variants have poorer survival. This study uses a transcriptomic algorithm to assess T-cell dysfunction and exclusion signatures that may predict response to immunotherapy.

methodsThe Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) was queried for bulk RNA-seq data for medulloblastomas. Samples were extracted as transcripts per million (TPM)–normalized matrices and corrected for batch effects. The TIDE model was used to calculate tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion scores for each sample. Cytotoxic T-cell levels were assessed to classify tumors as immunologically cold or hot. The algorithm identifies tumors that are either (1) cold with no T-cell exclusion or (2) hot with no T-cell dysfunction as potential responders to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB).

results262 pediatric samples were identified. The average TIDE score was + 0.05 (SD: 0.76), with 134 (51.1%) predicted ICB responders. Although 237 tumors were CTL-low, 127 (53.6%) of these were still predicted responders. By molecular subgroup, 70 samples were Group 3, 89 Group 4, 71 Shh-driven, and 32 Wnt-driven. Subgroup predicted ICB response (p < 0.001), with more responders in Group 3 (mean TIDE: −0.43, SD: 0.62) and Group 4 (mean TIDE: −0.17, SD: 0.59).

conclusionThis transcriptomic analysis suggests that specific molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma harbor immunologic features associated with potential responsiveness to ICB therapy.

Indexed as

Cerebellar NeoplasmsImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunotherapyMedulloblastomaT-LymphocytesChildFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHumansMalePrognosisTranscriptomeImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmune exclusionImmunotherapy responsePediatric medulloblastomaTumor heterogeneityTumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41563525

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.