Brain Tumors in Children Need Aggressive Surgery

Gliomas, low-grade brain tumours, in children need to be treated with aggressive surgery that would increase the chances of survival, states a study done at Mayo Clinic.

If complete removal is not possible, adding radiation therapy to a less complete surgery provides patients with the same outcomes as a complete removal.

About Brain Tumor
Brain tumors are the abnormal growth of brain cells that may be benign or metastatic. Brain tumors account for about 2.4% of all the tumor diagnosesandare most challenging due to their critically delicate location.

"This study further reinforces Mayo Clinic's practice of aggressive surgical resection," said Nadia Laack, study's lead author.

"We found that when compared to previous studies, more children are now able to have complete removals, most likely due to the fact that we have better neurosurgical techniques and better imaging techniques that help guide the surgeons," Laack said.

As part of an ongoing study, Dr. Laack and a team of Mayo Clinic researchers identified 127 consecutive pediatric patients with World Health Organization Grade I and Grade II low-grade gliomas treated at Mayo Clinic between 1990 and 2005.

Head Injury | Brain Injury Overview Types Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Head injury or traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of disability among children and young adults that leads to varying degrees of physical and mental stability. Fortunately, it is also one of the preventable brain disorder.

Of those, 90 patients had complete removal of their tumor and 20 patients had subtotal resections with added radiation therapy. Results showed that greater than 89 percent of the patients are surviving more than 10 years later.

This study was presented at the Society for NeuroOncology Annual Scientific Meeting and Education Day in Montreal on Nov. 21.

Research: Brain Tumors May Sometimes Be Mediated by Tiny Filament on Cells
UCSF scientists have discovered that a tiny filament extending from cells, until recently regarded as a remnant of evolution, may play a role in the most common malignant brain tumor in children.

Source-ANI