Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumors
The Condition
The second most common childhood tumor type, with around 4,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumors are made up of two sub-categories:
- Primary tumors, which start growing in the brain and can spread to other parts of the central nervous system, such as the spinal cord, but are rarely spread to other areas of the body.
- Secondary tumors, which form when tumor cells spread from other areas of the body to the central nervous system (these are rare in children).
View Other Conditions We Treat
The Treatment
We look at the specific tumor diagnosis and severity, in addition to the child’s age when determining treatment. Typically, there is a surgery to remove part or all of the tumor and may include additional surgeries if the tumor comes back. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are generally administered and targeted therapy, which includes oral medicines to kill cancer cells. Supportive care, steroids, anticonvulsant medicines (to prevent seizures), and stunt placement (to drain fluids) may also be involved.
The Nationwide Children’s Difference
Children, adolescents, young adults, and their families can count on our Brain Tumor Program, staffed by a multi-disciplinary team of providers dedicated to ensuring the patient has the best possible outcomes. Additionally, all patients will continue to be followed by the oncology team after finishing treatment to confirm wellness and receive appropriate resources, therapies, and subspecialty team services as needed. Patients will also continue to get surveillance imaging (MRIs) to make sure their tumor doesn’t grow back.
The Ongoing Research
As a national leader in oncology research and clinical trials, there are many ongoing studies to understand why these tumors develop and how to appropriately target them. We are members of all major pediatric brain tumor clinical trial consortia including Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC), Collaborative Network of Neuro-Oncology Clinical Trials (CONNECT), Pacific Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC), and the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). Currently, we have many open clinical trials testing new drugs in tumors, including CNS tumors.