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Pediatric Brain Metastases

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Radiation Oncology for Pediatric CNS Tumors

Abstract

Brain metastases (BM) are a frequent occurrence in adults malignancies, with an expected 20–40% of adult patients expected to develop BM during their disease course. In comparison, the brain is a rare site of metastasis in pediatric extracranial solid tumors with an estimated incidence in the order of 1–10%. Nevertheless, with continuing improvements in systemic therapies leading to prolonged survival, the incidence of pediatric BM may rise. While there is a broad body of literature on the incidence and management of adult BM, including large randomized clinical trials, there is a paucity of published data on pediatric BM, limited primarily to small series and cases reports. Pediatric BM may present synchronously or more commonly in the setting of prior extracranial metastases, particularly to the lungs. Treatment has typically included surgical resection for isolated or symptomatic lesions, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and possibly immunotherapy. Although the outcome for pediatric patients with BM is in general very poor, there are some reports of long-term survivors, suggesting that aggressive multimodal therapy may be warranted in a subset of patients.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, H. L. Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA

    Radhika Sreeraman Kumar M.D.

  2. Radiation Oncology Services, Riverdale, GA, USA

    Radhika Sreeraman Kumar M.D.

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Ronny L. Rotondo M.D.C.M., FRCPC.

Authors
  1. Radhika Sreeraman Kumar M.D.
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  2. Ronny L. Rotondo M.D.C.M., FRCPC.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronny L. Rotondo M.D.C.M., FRCPC. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Anita Mahajan

  2. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA

    Arnold Paulino

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Kumar, R.S., Rotondo, R.L. (2018). Pediatric Brain Metastases. In: Mahajan, A., Paulino, A. (eds) Radiation Oncology for Pediatric CNS Tumors. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55430-3_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55430-3_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55428-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55430-3

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