Many factors influence the decision.
Central to considerations are the classification, grading, and staging of pediatric brain tumors. With the exception of only a few tumor types and locations, most brain and spinal cord tumors are approached surgically. Tumor Classification and Grading Tumor classification is done by the pathologist's microscopic examination. In concept, brain tumors arise from different normal cells of the brain and spinal cord and the resulting neoplasms are designated accordingly. For glial tumors, tumor classification is achieved initially by assigning the lesion to one of these groups.