Pediatric Brain Tumor Treatment

At UCSF, children with brain and spinal cord tumors are treated by experienced specialists with fellowship training in pediatric neurosurgery and pediatric neuro-oncology

Some of the most common types of pediatric brain tumors treated include:

• Medulloblastoma

• Astrocytoma

• Ependymoma

• Craniopharyngioma

• Brainstem glioma

• Spinal cord tumors

Surgery is usually the first step in treating pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors. Many advanced imaging techniques are used at UCSF during the pre-operative evaluation. These techniques identify the exact anatomical location of the tumor, the blood supply, and the metabolic activity of different tissues within the tumor. During surgery to remove brain tumors, our neurosurgeons use brain-mapping techniques to identify and avoid injury to vital sites of language, motor, and sensory function. By identifying those areas, they can remove tumor and focal points of epileptic activity to the maximum extent possible, while minimizing injury to the surrounding brain. UCSF's Brain Tumor Center also has the most advanced surgical navigation systems available, which permit the greatest precision in tumor resection. To obtain even greater precision in localizing a tumor, computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can be performed during surgery to actively evaluate the extent of the remaining tumor.

After surgery, patients may need radiation therapy or chemotherapy. These treatments aim to kill any of the microscopic tumor cells that may remain after surgery. The Brain Tumor Center provides the most advanced of these therapies that are available to treat pediatric brain tumors, in addition to neuropsychological consultation, palliative care, and close ties with organizations sponsoring support groups and many other resources for patients and their families. Clinicians in the Brain Tumor Center are also members of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center – a designated research center of the National Cancer Institute.

UCSF is one of ten institutions in the United States selected to participate in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium for clinical trials, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The goals of this consortium are to better understand pediatric brain tumor biology and to develop effective new treatments for children with malignant brain tumors. Michael Prados MD, Director of Translational Research in the Department of Neurological Surgery, is the principal investigator of this Consortium site at UCSF. Several laboratories within the Brain Tumor Center are focused towards projects designed to answer fundmental questions regarding pediatric brain tumors and develop new therapeutic tools. Several labs are funded by an ongoing research program funded by the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the US.
 
UCSF also participates in the Children’s Oncology Group. This is a cooperative group combining the efforts of the major pediatric clinical trials groups based in North America – the Children's Cancer Group, the Pediatric Oncology Group, the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group, and the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group (NWTSG) – to accelerate the search for a cure and prevention of cancer in children and adolescents.
 

Participation in national cooperative clinical trials like these ensures patients that UCSF's Brain Tumor Center consistently has access to the latest techniques and the newest concepts in treatment for pediatric tumors of the brain and spinal cord. To enroll patients in clinical trials or to find out more information, call (415) 353-7500 or visit our pediatric brain tumor clinical trials page.