Abstract
Among tumors of the pediatric central nervous system, masses arising within the brainstem pose a unique set of diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Current population-based data from the United States estimate brainstem tumors to represent 10.9 % of new central nervous system neoplasms in pediatric patients aged 0–19 years, with over 500 cases expected in the year 2019 (Ostrom et al. 2018). A new diagnosis of brainstem tumor is most common between the ages of 5 and 9 years, and brainstem tumors represent 15.6% of new central nervous system (CNS) tumor diagnoses within this age range (Ostrom et al. 2015). In comparison, these tumors are far less common in adults: 1.5% of CNS tumors overall (Ostrom et al. 2018; Albright 1996). Masses in the brainstem display a substantial degree of histologic heterogeneity (Warren et al. 2012), and while diffuse tumors here are the most lethal pediatric high-grade tumors by location (Ostrom et al. 2015; Hargrave et al. 2006), other brainstem tumors are known to have a comparatively favorable prognosis (Frazier et al. 2009; Fried et al. 2012).
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Chiarelli, P.A., Chu, J.K., Krieger, M.D. (2019). Brainstem Tumors. In: Di Rocco, C., Pang, D., Rutka, J. (eds) Textbook of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31512-6_89-1
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