Maral Adel Fahmideh, PhD; Michael E. Scheurer, PhD, MPH, Baylor College of Medicine Introduction Primary brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children and the leading cause of cancer mortality in this population. Pediatric brain tumors (PBTs) are heterogeneous in histopathology, molecular features, and prognosis, and they are classified into two major categories including …
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 …
Recent Developments Gilbert Vezina, M.D., Director of Neuroradiology – Children’s National Medical Center, Washington D.C. Imaging techniques to diagnose, stage, and follow patients with brain tumors are central to their clinical management. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most commonly utilized technique for lesion detection, definition of extent, detection of spread and in evaluation of …
Ideally, when a child is diagnosed with a brain tumor, a multidisciplinary group of providers (neurosurgeons, neuropathologists, neuro-radiologists, neuro-oncologists, etc.) cooperate to determine the optimal treatment. Many factors influence the decision. Central to considerations are the classification, grading, and staging of pediatric brain tumors. With the exception of only a few tumor types and locations, …