Kathy Warren, MD, pediatric oncologist, National Cancer Institute INTRODUCTION: Although ependymomas are the third most common type of brain tumor in children (following astrocytoma and medulloblastoma), they are relatively rare, with approximately 200 cases diagnosed in the US each year in children and adults less than 25 years of age. Ependymomas account for 6-12% of …
Barry M. Shmookler, MD The first crucial step in cancer management is to assure that the pathology diagnosis (the biopsy) is correct and accurate. What is the basis for this statement? A pathologist is the only physician who can make the actual diagnosis of cancer. He/she is a medical doctor with a specialty training in the …
Mary Ann McCabe, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, Society for Research in Child Development Children and adolescents who have undergone treatment for brain tumors may be more likely to exhibit behavior problems than their peers. There have been relatively few formal studies of this issue, and behavior problems have often not been included in studies of neuropsychological …
Paul Graham Fisher, M.D., M.H.S. and Michelle Monje, M.D., Ph.D Brain stem tumors are perhaps the most dreaded cancers in pediatric oncology, owing to their historically poor prognosis, yet they remain an area of intense research. Brain stem tumors account for about 10 to 15% of childhood brain tumors. Peak incidence for these tumors occurs …