Note: This PDQ summary contains content that is included in the new PDQ Childhood Central Nervous System Embryonal Tumors summary. A health professional version of the Childhood Central Nervous System Embryonal Tumors summary is currently available on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Web site and a patient version is coming soon.
In the near future, the health professional and patient versions of the PDQ Childhood Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors and Pineoblastoma summary will be removed from the NCI Web site.
Childhood
Although
This summary refers to the treatment of
Brain tumors can occur in both children and adults; however, treatment for children may be different than treatment for adults. See the following
Childhood Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors Treatment Overview
The following
Weakness or change in sensation on one side of the body.
Morning headache or headache that goes away after
Unusual sleepiness or change in energy level.
Change in personality or behavior.
Unexplained weight loss or weight gain.
The following tests and procedures may be used:
If a brain tumor is suspected, a
The
The size and spread of the tumor before surgery.
Whether cancer cells remain after surgery.
Treatment options depend on:
The age of the child when the tumor is found.
Where the tumor is in the brain.
The amount of tumor remaining after surgery.
Whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the central nervous system, such as the
Whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the bone or
Whether the tumor has just been
There is no standard staging system for childhood
Whether the
Whether the child was younger than three years old when the tumor was
Some of the tests used to detect childhood supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors and pineoblastomas are repeated after the tumor is removed by
The three ways that cancer spreads in the body are:
Through
Through the
Through the
When cancer
Different types of treatment are available for children with
Because cancer in children is rare, taking part in a clinical trial should be considered. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Treatment will be overseen by a
Childhood brain and
These are called
Physical problems.
Changes in mood, feelings, thinking, learning, or memory.
Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the effects cancer treatment can have on your child. (See the
Because radiation therapy to the brain can affect growth and brain development in young children, clinical trials are studying ways of using chemotherapy to delay or reduce the need for radiation therapy.
Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
For some patients, taking part in a
Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from
Some of the tests that were done to
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has
A link to a list of current
Untreated childhood
Surgery followed by
Surgery followed by radiation therapy to the whole brain and spinal cord, and
Some of the treatments being studied in
A clinical trial of chemotherapy given before or after radiation therapy.
A clinical trial of chemotherapy to delay or reduce the need for radiation therapy.
Standard treatment of supratentorial neuroectodermal tumors or pineoblastoma in children younger than 3 years of age may include the following:
Surgery.
Surgery followed by chemotherapy.
One of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for supratentorial neuroectodermal tumors or pineoblastoma in children younger than 3 years of age includes chemotherapy to delay or reduce the need for radiation therapy.
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with untreated childhood supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor and untreated childhood pineoblastoma.
Standard treatment of
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent childhood supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor and recurrent childhood pineoblastoma.
For more information from the
What You Need to Know About™ Brain Tumors
Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC)
For more childhood
What You Need to Know About™ Cancer - An Overview
Childhood Cancers
CureSearch - National Childhood Cancer Foundation Children’s Oncology Group
Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer
Young People with Cancer: A Handbook for Parents
Care for Children and Adolescents with Cancer: Questions and Answers
Understanding Cancer Series: Cancer
Staging: Questions and Answers
Coping with Cancer
Support and Resources
Cancer Library
Information for Survivors/Caregivers/Advocates
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The
Changes were made to this summary to match those made to the health professional version.
Several enhancements have been made to this summary to better explain certain medical concepts and to help readers find information about
Text describing the way cancer spreads in the body was added to the Stages section.
Information about patients taking part in clinical trials and about follow-up tests was added to the Treatment Option Overview section.
Links to ongoing clinical trials listed in NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry were added to the Treatment Options section.
A new section called "To Learn More" was added. It includes links to more information about this type of cancer and about cancer in general.
The "Get More Information from NCI" section (originally called "To Learn More") was revised.
PDQ is a comprehensive cancer database available on NCI's Web site.
PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.
PDQ contains cancer information summaries.
The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are developed by cancer experts and reviewed regularly.
Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.
PDQ also contains information on clinical trials.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." In the United States, about two-thirds of children with cancer are treated in a clinical trial at some point in their illness.
Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. For additional help in locating a childhood cancer clinical trial, call the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), TTY at 1-800-332-8615.
The PDQ database contains listings of groups specializing in clinical trials.
The Children's Oncology Group (COG) is the major group that organizes clinical trials for childhood cancers in the United States. Information about contacting COG is available on the NCI Web site or from the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), TTY at 1-800-332-8615.
The PDQ database contains listings of cancer health professionals and hospitals with cancer programs.
Because cancer in children and adolescents is rare, the majority of children with cancer are treated by health professionals specializing in childhood cancers, at hospitals or cancer centers with special facilities to treat them. The PDQ database contains listings of health professionals who specialize in childhood cancer and listings of hospitals with cancer programs. For help locating childhood cancer health professionals or a hospital with cancer programs, call the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), TTY at 1-800-332-8615.
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