# Molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma: the current consensus

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-taylor-medulloblastoma-consensus-acta-neuropathol-2012/  
OnCo record `paper-taylor-medulloblastoma-consensus-acta-neuropathol-2012` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

An international consensus divided medulloblastoma into four molecular subgroups, WNT, SHH, group 3 and group 4, with different origins, genetics, ages and survival, a scheme now used in diagnosis and to design risk-adapted trials.

## Summary

Consensus paper from medulloblastoma researchers reconciling several transcriptomic classifications into four subgroups (WNT, SHH, group 3, group 4), summarising their demographics, histology, genetics, clinical behaviour and outcomes, and proposing nomenclature for research and clinical use.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: Acta Neuropathologica
- Year: 2012
- DOI: 10.1007/s00401-011-0922-z
- Authors: Taylor MD, Northcott PA, Korshunov A, et al.
- Findings: WNT tumours have over 90 percent survival, SHH intermediate outcomes dependent on TP53, group 3 the worst outlook and group 4 intermediate.
- What it means: The medulloblastoma subtype pages on this site follow this scheme, which entered the WHO classification in 2016 and drives current de-escalation and intensification trials.
- Caveats: Subgroups have since been split into further subtypes (Cavalli 2017) with prognostic differences.

## Sources

- Acta Neuropathol 2012: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-011-0922-z
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22134537/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Group 3 and group 4 medulloblastoma (non-WNT/non-SHH)](https://onco.cc/cancers/medulloblastoma-group-3-4/), [SHH-activated medulloblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/medulloblastoma-shh/), [WNT-activated medulloblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/medulloblastoma-wnt/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/paper-taylor-medulloblastoma-consensus-acta-neuropathol-2012.json