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Children's Health Children's Diseases and Conditions

Brain Tumors in Children: What Do We Know?

Summary & Participants

When most of us think of brain tumors, we probably don't think of children. But it is the second most common cancer in children. Not much is known about what causes pediatric brain tumors, and they are difficult to detect early. Our panel will discuss what we know about brain tumors in children, and how they are diagnosed.

Medically Reviewed On: May 07, 2008

Webcast Transcript

MARTY MOSS-COANE:  Welcome to our webcast.  I'm Marty Moss-Coane.  When most of think of brain tumors, we probably don't think of children, but every year over 2,000 children are diagnosed with brain tumors, making them the second most common cancer in children.  Not much is known about what causes pediatric brain tumors and they are hard to detect early since the symptoms can be very subtle.

Joining us today to discuss what we do know about brain tumors in children are two experts and let me introduce them to you.  Dr. Fred Epstein is founding director of the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.  Dr. Epstein, thank you for joining us.  Also with us is Dr. George Jallo and he is an attending pediatric neurosurgeon at the same Institute.  Dr. Jallo, welcome as well.

Well, let's start with some very basic descriptions and perhaps I'll put this to you, Dr. Epstein, what exactly is a brain tumor?

FRED J. EPSTEIN, MD: Well, it's hard to be overly complex about it.  A brain tumor is basically a lump in the brain that's getting bigger and causing symptoms as it gets larger, because, if you think about it, I mean -- the brain is within a skull which is essentially a closed box.  And if one has a lump growing inside of the brain, it's going to cause some pressure and symptoms, and that's what the source of the symptoms.

MARTY MOSS-COANE: And are there certain parts of the brain where it's more common to find a brain tumor?

GEORGE JALLO, MD:  In children, yes.  The majority of tumors that are seen in children, if I can illustrate --

MARTY MOSS-COANE: Please do.

GEORGE JALLO, MD: Are in the posterior fossa and in this region right here.  It's really the smaller part of the brain.  But I'd say about 70-80% of brain tumors occur in this region alone.

MARTY MOSS-COANE: And there are two kinds of brain tumors -- both the ...?

GEORGE JALLO, MD: There's benign and malignant tumors.  And benign tend to be indolent and malignant tumors are more aggressive, require other forms of therapy in addition to surgery.

FRED J. EPSTEIN, MD: One of the things that's fortunate -- fortunate, maybe that's a bad word when you look at a child with a brain tumor.  But most of them are benign.

MARTY MOSS-COANE: Interesting.

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