REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Oncology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1646641
This article is part of the Research TopicRecent Biological Insights into Pediatric Brain TumorsView all 13 articles
Characteristics of the blood-brain barrier in pediatric brain tumors
Provisionally accepted
- 1Beijing Children's Hospital Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- 2Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- 3Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China
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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a vital role in maintaining central nervous system homeostasis but poses a major obstacle to effective drug delivery in pediatric brain tumors. BBB integrity varies significantly in pediatric brain tumors compared to adult ones, and is influenced by the tumor type, molecular subtype, and anatomical location. This review discusses the heterogeneous nature of the BBB across various pediatric brain tumors, including low-grade gliomas, diffuse midline gliomas, medulloblastomas, ependymomas and craniopharyngiomas. We review histological, molecular, and imaging evidence to highlight differences in BBB permeability and their implications for therapeutic delivery and treatment resistance. Special consideration is given to advanced drug delivery strategies, such as focused ultrasound and BBB-disrupting agents, which have been tailored to the unique barrier properties of each tumor subtype. A deeper understanding of tumor-specific BBB architecture is essential for tailoring treatment strategies and improving outcomes in pediatric brain cancer.
Keywords: pediatric brain tumors, Blood-Brain Barrier, tumor heterogeneity, Permeability, Drug delivery
Received: 13 Jun 2025; Accepted: 07 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gao, Chai, Song, Guo and Ge. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ming Ge, Beijing Children's Hospital Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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