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. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to test new treatments and to find better ways to treat cancer patients.
Clinical trials are ongoing in most parts of the country for childhood brain stem gliomas.
Your child's treatment depends on where the tumor is located within the brain stem. In some cases, surgery is not possible and radiation therapy is given. In other cases, as much of the tumor as possible may be removed surgically and the patient may be watched carefully before more therapy is given. Children younger than 3 years of age may be given chemotherapy so that a lower dose of radiation may be given, or to delay radiation therapy. Recurrent childhood brain stem glioma Treatment for recurrent childhood brain stem glioma depends on the type of tumor, whether the tumor comes back in the place in which it originated or in another part of the brain, and the type of treatment previously given.