Cancerous Brain Tumors in Children

Brain tumors are caused by abnormal cell growth, and may be cancerous or benign (non-cancerous). Each year in the United States, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 children are diagnosed with brain tumors. This makes brain tumors the third most common childhood cancer, after leukemia and lymphoma, according to cancer.gov. This article will give a brief overview of common types of childhood brain tumors, how they are diagnosed and their treatment.

Types

• There are various types of brain tumors, and they are classified according to the kind of cell they originate from and where the tumor starts. This is a short list of the more common types of childhood brain tumors.

  Astrocytomas are brain tumors that start in cells called astrocytes.They are the most common childhood brain tumor. High-grade astrocytomas are more aggressive and are fast-growing, malignant cancers, and low-grade astrocytomas are slow-growing and not as likely to be cancerous.

  Brain stem gliomas are brain tumors that start in the brain stem. The brain stem is the part of the brain that is attached to the spinal cord.

  Glioblastoma multiforme are very aggressive brain tumors and grow very fast.

  Ependymomas form in the lining of the brain or along the spinal cord. They are usually non-cancerous and are slow-growing.

  Primitive neuroectodermal tumors are very cancerous and aggressive, and grow rapidly.

  Atypical Teratoid-Rhabdoid tumors are very aggressive tumors that are usually diagnosed in children who are very young.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of childhood brain tumors vary. Some common symptoms include headaches, morning headaches that may or may not include vomiting, loss of balance, trouble walking, vision, hearing or speech problems and changes in personality or behavior, according to cancer.gov. Since these symptoms can also be associated with other conditions, if your child is displaying any of these symptoms, it is best to have the child see a doctor.

Diagnosis

• In order to accurately diagnose a brain tumor, various tests will be done. These include a CT scan, an MRI and a biopsy so that the tissue in question can be examined. These tests will help the doctor see if there are any abnormalities in the brain or if there are tumors under the skull. Other tests may include a lumbar puncture and a bone scan. These tests will help assess if the cancer has spread anywhere else.

Treatment

• For children with brain tumors, surgery, in combination with either radiation or chemotherapy, is the standard treatment. For children younger than 3, chemotherapy is used instead of radiation, because the radiation therapy can affect the brain, which is still developing. The treatment team for children with brain tumors is commonly one that is multi-disciplinary, having providers from many different fields. It generally includes neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, endocrinologists, psychologists, opthamologists, radiation oncologists and rehabilitation specialists.

Prognosis

• The prognosis for children with brain tumors depends on several things. If the surgery was not able to remove all the cancer cells, the amount that was not removed impacts prognosis. The kind of tumor and characteristics of the tumor, the location of the cancer, the age of the child and whether it was an initial cancer diagnosis or a recurrent cancer all impact the child's prognosis.

Future Directions

• Clinical trials are part of cancer research, and are often on the cutting edge of cancer treatments. For children with brain tumors, high-dose chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant is currently being looked at as a possible treatment option. If you are interested in learning more information, talk to your doctor about whether your child would benefit from taking part in a clinical trial and to learn more information about trials being done in your area.