Brain cancer in children

Central nervous system cancers (of the brain and spinal cord)

Brain tumours are the most common solid tumours found in children and cancers of the brain and spinal cord tumours are the second most commonly occuring cancers in children. Children of any age may be affected by brain and spinal cord cancers and boys are affected more often than girls.

The two types of brain tumours affecting children are gliomas and medulloblastomas.

Gliomas start in the cells of the brain which hold nerve cells in place. There are two main types of Gliomas in children – astrocytomas and ependymomas.

Medulloblastomas usually develop in the cerebellum and may spread to the spinal cord or to other parts of the brain. Brain tumours can be either primary or secondary tumours. Primary brain tumours are tumours which start and develop in the brain. Secondary brain tumours (also called cerebral metastases) are when different types of cancer cells from other parts of the body spread to the brain.

Most brain cancers of children involve the cerebellum or brain stem. In adults cancer is more likely to occur in different parts of the brain, most often in the cerebral hemispheres. Spinal cord tumours are less common than brain tumours in both children and adults.

Many primary brain tumours are benign, which means they remain in the part of the brain in which they started and do not spread into and destroy other areas of the brain.

Malignant primary brain tumours can spread to surrounding healthy brain tissue, which can create pressure and cause damage to the surrounding areas.

Research continues to find what causes brain tumours.