In fact, in pediatrics as compared to adults more tumors lend themselves to removal then biopsy alone. A brief discussion on benign vs. malignant should be made. Up till now the term tumor has been used in the very general sense without implication for prognosis. As most people are aware there are both benign and malignant tumors in the body. Unfortunately the naming of such tumors in the brain is very confusing.
Most people understand benign tumors to be removable and thus curable with little chance for spread.
Likewise, most people understand malignant to be highly aggressive tumors that spread throughout the body rapidly and are likely to be fatal. By and large tumors in the nervous system stay in the nervous system. Benign and malignant refer more to the rate of growth of the tumor and the degree of local invasion to the surrounding brain tissue. To further confuse things, not all benign tumors in the brain are treatable or curable. Likewise there are malignant tumors that can be cured.