Neoplasms of the Brain and Spine

Abstract

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children. Pediatric brain tumors display a high pathologic diversity, and many of them are primitive lesions. The type of tumor, incidence, distribution, and the outcome are different according to the age. Posterior fossa tumors comprise a greater proportion in children, although supratentorial location is more commonly involved in the neonates and young children. The neuroimaging, including CT and MRI with advanced techniques, has a critical role in the preoperative and follow-up evaluation of the brain tumor. While there are characteristic imaging appearances of individual tumors, there is a considerable overlap, and the age, location, and clinical settings should be considered together in differential diagnosis. Extent of tumor resection is more important in the childhood brain tumors, because irradiation and chemotherapy are limited especially in infants and young children. Outcomes have improved recently, attributed to advanced imaging ability to assess initial and residual disease, improved surgical techniques, and modified chemotherapy.