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Cerebellar Astrocytomas

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Abstract

Gliomas are the most common CNS tumors in children and comprise 50% of all CNS neoplasms. Low-grade gliomas, specifically juvenile pilocytic astrocytomas (JPAs), are the most common, and the majority occur in the cerebellum. These are associated with stereotypical and often diagnostic radiographic features (Ferris et al. 2017). The current mainstay of treatment of benign cerebellar astrocytomas (CAs) is gross total resection (GTR). Adjunctive therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy can be used in patients with unresectable or recurrent disease or those tumors with more aggressive, undifferentiated histology (Bonfield and Steinbok 2015). Unlike their adult counterparts, low-grade cerebellar gliomas in children have an excellent prognosis, and patients can maintain excellent qualities of life (Due-Tønnessen et al. 2013; Ogiwara et al. 2012; Pencalet et al. 1999).

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Correspondence to Jeffrey P. Blount .

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Atchley, T.J., Blount, J.P. (2019). Cerebellar Astrocytomas. 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_90-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31512-6_90-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31512-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31512-6

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