Every professional has a specialized way of looking at a patient. The Johns Hopkins Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Group combines these ways into an appropriate management plan for each child. The team includes radiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and oncologists. Each year they treat about 60 new pediatric brain tumor patients and provide second opinions for another 100 from around the country.
Brain tumors are complex and prone to misclassification and over treatment.
Some of the new x-ray and treatment breakthroughs add to the difficulty of deciding how to treat the disease. Each team member considers what an image or pathology slide suggests, and places their particular piece of the clinical puzzle on the table. Recommendations are made only when the patient's picture is completed.