Multiomic integration reveals tumoral heterogeneity of lipid dependence within lethal group 3 medulloblastoma

Cancer Cell. 2026 Jan 15:S1535-6108(25)00546-X. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.12.012. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood, exhibits significant biological complexity that demands deeper exploration. Here, we present a large multiomics dataset integrating data from 384 primary medulloblastoma patient samples across five omic layers: CpG methylome, transcriptome, proteome, phosphoproteome, and metabolome, paired with associated clinical metadata. Data integration revealed intertumoral heterogeneity of lipid metabolism across proteomic subtypes. Notably, while the MYC-FASN-SCD axis drives lipid biosynthesis, pathway inhibition elicits a compensatory escape mechanism in vivo through exogenous fatty acid uptake. Unexpectedly, we demonstrated that MYC triggers lipid storage, creating a unique dependency on lipid droplet-mitochondria communications to sustain tumor maintenance in vivo. Together, this comprehensive analysis reveals a targetable vulnerability downstream of MYC that constitutes a promising therapeutic approach to treat currently untreatable medulloblastoma subtypes.

Keywords: lipid biosynthesis; lipid droplets; lipid oxidative stress; medulloblastoma; metabolomics; multiomics integration; pediatric cancer; phosphoproteomics; proteomics; transcriptomics.