Surgery is used when possible to treat brain stem gliomas. Depending on where the cancer is, your child's doctor may remove as much of the tumor as possible by creating an opening in the skull in an operation called a craniotomy. If the brain stem glioma is in a place where it cannot be removed, surgery may be limited to a biopsy of the cancer. Because tumors in the brain stem often cannot be removed, radiation therapy is the most common treatment for children with brain stem gliomas. Since radiation therapy can affect growth and brain development, other clinical trials are testing ways to decrease or delay radiation therapy, especially for younger children who have not yet achieved full growth.
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. Chemotherapy is being studied in clinical trials as a means of delaying or eliminating the need for radiation therapy in younger patients, as well as for use prior to or during radiation therapy. There is no staging for childhood brain stem glioma. Treatment depends on the grade of the tumor, its location, and whether or not the child has received previous treatment. Your child may receive treatment that is considered standard based on its effectiveness in a number of patients in past studies, or you may choose to have your child enter a clinical trial.