Brain tumors are growths inside your skull. They are among the most common types of childhood cancers. Some are benign tumors, which aren't cancer. They can still be serious. Malignant tumors are cancerous.
Symptoms of a brain tumor might include
- Headache
- Vomiting and nausea
- Personality changes
- Depression
- Trouble controlling muscles
- Seizures
- Vision or speech problems
Treatment for children is sometimes different than for an adult. Long-term side effects are an important issue. The options also depend on the type of tumor and where it is. Removal of the tumor is often possible. If not, radiation, chemotherapy or both may be used.
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Childhood Brain Tumors (PDQ): Treatment
(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/childbrain/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/cerebralinfantil/patient/ - Detailed Guide: Brain/CNS (Spinal Cord) Tumors in Children(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/CRI_2_3x.asp?rnav=cridg&dt=4
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Brain Tumors(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/brn_tumors.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/medicos/brn_tumors_esp.html
- Brain Tumors(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site659/mainpageS659P0.html
- Pediatric Brain Tumors(National Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.braintumor.org/PediatricFAQ/
- Chemo Alone Effective in Treating Kids' Brain Tumors(10/10/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70315.html
- How Are Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors in Children Diagnosed?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_How_is_brain_and_spinal_cord_tumors_diagnosed_4.asp?sitearea=
- Symptoms of Pediatric Brain or Spinal Cord Tumors(Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.pbtfus.org/families/parents/Symptoms.html
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Childhood Brain Stem Glioma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/child-brain-stem-glioma/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/glioma-tronco-encefalico-infantil/patient
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Childhood Cerebellar Astrocytoma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/child-cerebellar-astrocytoma/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/astrocitoma-cerebeloso-infantil/patient/
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Childhood Cerebral Astrocytoma / Malignant Glioma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/child-cerebral-astrocytoma/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/astrocitoma-cerebral-infantil/patient/
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Childhood Ependymoma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/childependymoma/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/ependimomainfantil/patient/
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Childhood Medulloblastoma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/childmedulloblastoma/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/meduloblastomainfantil/patient/
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Childhood Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors and Pineoblastoma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/childSPNET/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/neuroectodermico-supratentorial-pineal-infantiles/patient/
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Childhood Visual Pathway and Hypothalamic Glioma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/child-visual-pathway/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/vias-opticas-infantiles/patient/
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Radiation Therapy(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/doctor/radiation.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/radiation_esp.html
- Treatment of Pediatric Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors(Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.pbtfus.org/families/parents/treatment-of-pediatric.html
- Complementary Therapy and Healthy Eating(Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.cbtf.org/cms/complementary_therapy_and_healthy_eating
- Feelings(Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.pbtfus.org/survivors/feelings/
- Choroid Plexus Tumor(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2138/mainpageS2138P0.html
- Craniopharyngioma(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2129/mainpageS2129P0.html
- Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioma - Childhood(American Society of Clinical Oncology) - http://www.cancer.net/patient/Cancer+Types/Desmoplastic+Infantile+Ganglioglioma+-+Childhood
- Dysembryoplastic Neuroepithelial Tumor (DNT)(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site812/mainpageS812P0.html
- Medulloblastoma(American Brain Tumor Association) - Large PDF file - http://www.abta.org/sitefiles/sitePages/D3A2C571CD0CDE16C0FFE57607F22A65.pdf
- Meningioma(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1289/mainpageS1289P0.html
- Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1454/mainpageS1454P0.html
- Rhabdoid Tumor(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1526/mainpageS1526P0.html
- At the Hospital(Children's Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.cbtf.org/cms/hospital
- Education Issues(Children's Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.cbtf.org/cms/education
- Family Support Program(Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://pbtfus.ga1.org/families/support/
- Going Home(Children's Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://cbtf.org/cms/going_home
- Issues to Consider When Choosing a Brain Tumor Treatment Center(National Brain Tumor Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.braintumor.org/upload/contents/330/FactSheet-TreatmentCenter%20rev.pdf
- What Should You Ask Your Child's Doctor about Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_5X_What_should_you_ask_your_doctor_about_brain_and_spinal_cord_tumors_4.asp?sitearea=
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Young People with Cancer: A Handbook for Parents(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/youngpeople
- MRI-Guided Brain Tumor Removal with Cortical Mapping(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 10/15/2006 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=366
- Posterior Fossa Craniotomy for the Removal of a Brain Tumor(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 8/31/2006 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=334
- Brain: Anatomy(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site570/mainpageS570P0.html
- Medical Expenses, Insurance, and Financial Assistance(Children's Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.cbtf.org/cms/medical_expenses_insurance_and_financial_assistance
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Childhood Brain Tumors(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=(brain+neoplasms)+%5BCONDITION%5D+AND+child+%5BAGE-GROUP%5D
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Childhood Cancers: Questions and Answers(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/childhood
- Research on Central Nervous System Tumors(Children's Oncology Group) - http://www.curesearch.org/our_research/index_sub.aspx?id=1762
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Radiological classification of optic pathway gliomas: experience of a modified... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18796556&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Management of diffuse glioma in children: a retrospective study of... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18795594&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Intraoperative subcortical stimulation mapping of language pathways in a consecutive... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18759577&tool=MedlinePlus
- Childhood Brain Tumors -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=brain+neoplasms[majr]+AND+(child[mh]+OR+infant[mh]+OR+adolescent[mh]+NOT+aged[mh])+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Dictionary for Brain Tumor Patients(American Brain Tumor Association) - http://www.abta.org/index.cfm?contentid=67
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Dictionary of Cancer Terms(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary/
- Brain Tumor Survivor Late Effects Clinics(Children's Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://cbtf.org/cms/brain_tumor_survivor_late_effects_clinics
- Find a Board-Certified Neurosurgeon(American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/findaneuro/
- Find a Treatment Center(National Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.braintumor.org/CenterFind/
- Find an Oncologist(American Society of Clinical Oncology) - http://www.cancer.net/patient/Diagnosis+and+Treatment/Finding+Quality+Care/Find+an+Oncologist/Find+an+Oncologist+Database
- American Cancer Society - http://www.cancer.org/
- Children's Brain Tumor Foundation - http://www.cbtf.org/
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National Cancer Institute - http://www.cancer.gov/
- Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation - http://www.pbtfus.org/
- Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation Newsletter(Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.childhoodbraintumor.org/index.php/newsletters.html
- Facts about Pediatric Brain Tumors(Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.pbtfus.org/medcomm/research/Pediatric-brain-tumor-facts-updated.html
- What Are the Key Statistics about Brain and Spinal Cord Cancers?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_are_the_key_statistics_for_brain_and_spinal_cord_tumors_4.asp?sitearea=
- Basic Brain Tumor Information(American Brain Tumor Association) - http://www.abta.org/kids/learning/basic-info.htm
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Types of Cancer Teens Get(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/cancer/types_of_cancer.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/enfermedades/types_of_cancer_esp.html
- Brain Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/braincancer.html
- Cancer in Children - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancerinchildren.html
- Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
- Cancers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancers.html
- Children and Teenagers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childrenandteenagers.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Childhood Brain Tumors is the National Cancer Institute - http://www.nci.nih.gov/