Genetic susceptibility to ependymoma and interaction with perinatal risk factors

Principal Investigator: Kyle Walsh, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
Award: $300,000 over three years
Mentor: William Weiss, MD, PhD, UCSF

Very little is known about what causes pediatric ependymomas. The most convincing factors identified to date suggest contributions from genetics and the immune system. By leveraging a large multiethnic patient population drawn from the California Birth Cohort, Dr. Walsh will compare the genomes of approximately 500 children with ependymoma to the genomes of 5,000 cancer-free children to identify genetic risk factors underlying this disease. Special focus will be given to genes involved in the immune response. He will also investigate interactions between genetic factors and potential perinatal risk factors, including birthweight, male sex and early life infections. Dr. Walsh believes that an enhanced understanding of the factors underlying pediatric ependymoma risk, including how genetic variation interacts with immune parameters, can change ependymoma research paradigms and usher in a new generation of studies that target the underlying causes of this disease.