What is a malignant pediatric brain tumor?
Pediatric brain tumors are classified into one of two categories: benign or malignant. A malignant pediatric brain tumor is a childhood tumor that grows quickly and invades and destroys healthy brain tissue. Malignant brain tumors are usually cancerous. Under a microscope, the cells of a cancerous tumor look abnormal, with varying sizes. Malignant pediatric brain tumors can spread to other areas of the brain or spinal cord. This spread is called metastasis. It is extremely rare for malignant brain tumors to spread to other parts of the body. Sometimes a malignant brain tumor is contained in a layer of tissue, a bone or another brain structure and does not spread at all. This kind of tumor is called and encapsulated tumor. How are malignant pediatric brain tumors treated? For the best chance of a cure, treatment of malignant pediatric brain tumors begins with a pediatric brain tumor resection, followed by a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. The goal of pediatric brain t
