Pediatric Brain Tumors

Abstract

Brain tumors are the most common solid cancer of childhood and are currently the leading cause of death in children, excluding trauma [ 1 Smith E.R. Butler W.E. Barker 2nd, F.G. Craniotomy for resection of pediatric brain tumors in the United States, 1988–2000: effects of provider caseloads and progressive centralization and specialization of care. Neurosurgery. 2004; 54 ([discussion: 563–65]): 553-563 Crossref PubMed Scopus (114) Google Scholar , 2 Surawicz T.S. Davis F. Freels S. et al. Brain tumor survival: results from the National Cancer Data Base. J Neurooncol. 1998; 40: 151-160 Crossref PubMed Scopus (307) Google Scholar , 3 Surawicz T.S. McCarthy B.J. Kupelian V. et al. Descriptive epidemiology of primary brain and CNS tumors: results from the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, 1990–1994. Neuro Oncol. 1999; 1: 14-25 PubMed Google Scholar ]. The number of primary and metastatic brain tumors is steadily increasing, whereas mortality rates for many central nervous system (CNS) tumor types have remained essentially unchanged [ [4] Barker 2nd, F.G. Curry Jr., W.T. Carter B.S. Surgery for primary supratentorial brain tumors in the United States, 1988 to 2000: the effect of provider caseload and centralization of care. Neuro Oncol. 2005; 7: 49-63 Crossref PubMed Scopus (126) Google Scholar ]. Many of these tumors remain difficult to detect before the onset of symptoms. Once identified, rapid referral to an appropriate specialist for treatment is often critical to obtaining an optimal outcome.