What are the advantages of coming to the Center for optic pathway gliomas?
Optic pathway gliomas are uncommon and consequently few centers have a large experience. The development and study of a large prospective tumor registry (collection of patients over time) would definitely enhance care and advance the field. There is no universally accepted staging system for visual and hypothalamic gliomas. Prospective natural history data might improve our ability to predict the behavior of tumors based upon location or other factors (e.g. association with neurofibromatosis I). Many of the recent advances in survival with higher quality of life and decreased morbidity (including visual loss) have been made due to large clinical trials. Due to the paucity of cases at any one center, a regional tumor center would be able to recruit and analyze larger numbers of patients for a clinical trial. A multidisciplinary approach is required for the treatment of these tumors. Radiation therapy to the growing child’s brain has significant side effects and newer modalities to reduc
