Brainstem gliomas

Brainstem gliomas have historically been one of the most difficult pediatric cancers to treat. Tumors arising in the brainstem were once uniformly discounted as surgically unresectable lesions. Early neurosurgeons thought this location to be inoperable and fraught with disaster. The advent of comput...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child's nervous system 2004-03, Vol.20 (3), p.143-153
Main Authors: Jallo, George I, Biser-Rohrbaugh, Ann, Freed, Diana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain Stem - pathology
Brain Stem - surgery
Brain Stem Neoplasms - classification
Brain Stem Neoplasms - diagnosis
Brain Stem Neoplasms - pathology
Brain Stem Neoplasms - surgery
Child
Glioma - classification
Glioma - diagnosis
Glioma - pathology
Glioma - surgery
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Monitoring, Intraoperative
Pons - pathology
Pons - surgery
Prognosis
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Description
Summary:Brainstem gliomas have historically been one of the most difficult pediatric cancers to treat. Tumors arising in the brainstem were once uniformly discounted as surgically unresectable lesions. Early neurosurgeons thought this location to be inoperable and fraught with disaster. The advent of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and sophisticated neurophysiological monitoring techniques have significantly advanced the surgical treatment of these precarious lesions. Brainstem gliomas are now recognized as a heterogenous group of tumors. They have been broadly classified into several categories depending upon the classification scheme. All these classification systems provide a framework to predict growth patterns, surgical resectability, and overall prognosis of these tumors. These systems allow the surgeon to obtain a better understanding of the distinction between low-grade tumors and diffuse inoperable tumor types. The authors review the current literature and management of brainstem tumors.
ISSN:0256-7040
1433-0350
DOI:10.1007/s00381-003-0870-6