The purpose of surgery is to remove as much of the tumor as possible, to establish an exact diagnosis, to determine the extent of the tumor, and sometimes to provide access for other treatments, such as implants or radiation. As mentioned above, some tumors are inaccessible to the neurosurgeon. Conventional radiation therapy uses external beams of radiation aimed at the tumor, a therapy which is given over a period of several weeks. Other types of radiation are also available. Because the developing brain of a child is so very sensitive to radiation therapy, it is deliberately limited or delayed until the child has grown older and the brain has sufficiently matured.
Chemotherapy is required for the more aggressive or higher grade tumors.
Many drugs will kill brain cells, but it is difficult to predict which tumors will respond to which chemotherapy agents. Therefore, treatment often consists of a combination of drugs. Certain classes of drugs will not pass the blood-brain barrier. Quite often childhood tumors the block the of the fluid spaces of the brain, creating pressure in the brain. Clinical Trials Al Musella's Clinical Trials Page NCI clinical trial search form.