Ependymoma News and Research

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Obscure X chromosome protein emerges as key driver in several cancers

A little-known protein encoded on the X chromosome is attracting growing attention for its potential role in cancer development and treatment.

5 Aug 2026

Scientists discover how brain development programs fuel pediatric tumors

A team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital, and collaborating institutions reveals in the journal Nature a novel mechanism that drives the development of pediatric supratentorial ependymoma (EPN), the third most common pediatric brain tumor. The findings suggest potential new approaches to treat these aggressive and chemo-resistant tumors.

26 Mar 2026

Study links androgens to aggressive childhood brain tumor growth

An international team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, McGill University and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has discovered what drives the growth of a lethal pediatric brain tumor called Posterior Fossa Type A (PFA) ependymoma.

25 Mar 2026

Decoding the neighborhood dynamics of childhood brain cancer

New research published in Nature finds that tumor cells within supratentorial ependymomas (SE) – an aggressive childhood brain cancer – cluster into distinct tumor cell populations. Much like a neighborhood in your hometown, each cell subtype within these "communities" has a specific (and previously unappreciated) role to play.

12 Mar 2026

Assessing long-term cognitive risks in ependymoma survivors

A study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital assessed cognitive and communication abilities in children treated for the brain tumor ependymoma to understand the impact of treatment better. They found that radiation was a significant contributor to hearing loss, a risk directly linked to cognitive health.

23 Feb 2026

Abnormal fusion protein drives childhood brain tumor through condensate formation

A study looking at the biophysical properties of an abnormal protein driving cancer cells is giving scientists new therapeutic clues for how to treat ependymoma, the third most common childhood brain tumor.

27 Aug 2025

HOXB13 emerges as a context-dependent regulator in cancer biology

HOXB13, a B-class homeobox transcription factor, sits at the hub of developmental gene networks yet has emerged as a double-edged sword in human cancer.

5 Aug 2025

Measuring tumor force offers new clues for brain cancer treatment

As brain tumors grow, they must do one of two things: push against the brain or use finger-like extensions to invade and destroy surrounding tissue.

3 Jul 2025

New approach to treating ependymoma with leukemia drug

Rakesh Jain PhD, Director of the E.L. Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital and A. Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, is senior author of a new study in PNAS, Targeting EPHB2/ABL1 Restores Anti-Tumor Immunity in Preclinical Models of Ependymoma.

23 Jan 2025

Study reveals serotonin's role in ependymoma tumor growth

Do neurons play a role in brain tumor growth and development? Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have evidence showing that, for childhood ependymomas, they do.

31 Jul 2024

Repurposing anti-retroviral medications for brain tumor treatment: The RETREAT trial

Drugs developed to combat HIV and AIDS are being trialed for the first time in patients with multiple brain tumors.

21 Jun 2024

Air quality and residential greenness influence childhood cancer development

In a new study led by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Center and the U of M Medical School, researchers found that exposure to air pollution and vegetation may impact childhood cancer development.

21 Feb 2024

3D genome mapping may lead to the treatment of deadliest pediatric brain tumors

Researchers led by Sanford Burnham Prebys assistant professor Lukas Chavez, Ph.D., are leveraging the latest technology to take a never-before-seen look at ependymoma, one of the deadliest pediatric brain tumors.

27 Apr 2023

Novel immunotherapy appears to be safe, well tolerated by children with relapsed brain tumors

The first in-human-study of a new immunotherapy that blocks a natural enzyme tumors commandeer for their protection was well tolerated by children with relapsed brain tumors and enabled many to have unexpected months of a more normal life, researchers say.

25 Apr 2023

Unexpected discovery may lead to improved treatments for YAP fusion-driven cancers

An unexpected discovery made by experts at the Brain Tumor Center at Cincinnati Children's while studying a rare-but-deadly type of brain tumor may also lead to improved treatments for several other forms of cancer that share a common influencing factor called a YAP fusion protein.

2 Feb 2023

Discovery paves the way for specific therapies for common form of childhood brain and spine tumor

A study conducted by researchers in Brazil, Australia, Austria and the United States has made significant discoveries about a type of pediatric cancer with no approved drugs for treatment and with a low survival rate.

29 Aug 2022

Maternal exposure to pesticides may lead to central nervous system tumors during childhood

Research published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research suggests that exposure during pregnancy to a wide variety of pesticides may lead to the development of central nervous system tumors during childhood.

3 Apr 2021

Three projects from University of Colorado Cancer Center receive grants for brain tumor research

Three projects from University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers have received grants from the Denver-based Michele Plachy-Rubin Fund for Pilot Grants in Brain Cancer Research. Receiving $40,000 each to fund their work around brain cancer are Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD; and the teams of Philip Reigan, PhD, and Michael Graner, PhD; and Natalie Serkova, PhD, and Nicholas Foreman, MD, MBChB.

10 Mar 2021

Study identifies molecular differences between individual tumor cells in ependymomas

For the first time in the world, an international study team with substantial participation from researchers from the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) of MedUni Vienna and Vienna University Hospital identifies the molecular differences between individual tumour cells in ependymomas, which are an aggressive type of brain tumor

14 Jul 2020

St. Jude scientists create O-PDX models for pediatric brain tumor research

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have created orthotopic patient-derived xenograft (O-PDX) models representing a variety of pediatric brain tumor types.

23 Jun 2020