In the United States, 11,900 children and adolescents under the age of 20 were diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and about 2,200 died of the disease. The diagnosis of invasive brain and nervous system cancers accounts for 17 percent of all pediatric cancers, second only to acute lymphocytic leukemia. About half of the diagnosed cases of brain tumors are malignant.

Although there are fifty neuroepithelial pediatric tumor classifications, medulloblastoma, a tumor arising in the lower portion of the brain that can spread to other regions of the brain and spinal cord, is the most common type of malignant childhood central nervous system cancer. Astrocytomas, a malignancy of cells (astrocytes) located throughout the brain, and brain stem gliomas, tumors that grow in the central region of the brain which can involve the spinal cord, are other types of pediatric brain tumors.

Immunotherapy seeks to activate the body's own immune system to target and destroy cancerous cells. Although clinical science has recognized the potential of immunology in cancer therapy for over 100 years, only recently has technology advanced to the state where viable treatments seem within reach. Scientists are now producing antibodies directed at specific targets on cancer cells or related tissues that support tumor growth. Some have proven successful in treating cancers.


Cancer Immunotherapy and Children