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Ependymoma

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Molecular Pathology of Nervous System Tumors

Part of the book series: Molecular Pathology Library ((MPLB,volume 8))

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Abstract

Brain tumors are the most common childhood solid malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. Ependymomas are among the most prevalent entities in children and show a high degree of clinical, histological, and genetic heterogeneity, which may only be explained by the underlying tumor biology. Histopathological diagnosis of ependymomas, according to the classification of the World Health Organization (WHO), is of paramount importance for clinicians to choose the most appropriate treatment option and tailor treatment intensity to disease risk. Considerable advances have been made in the past decades to cure a substantial proportion of children with these tumors. However, many children still succumb to their disease, and many survivors suffer from severe long-term cognitive, neurological, endocrinological, and psychosocial sequelae of intensive multimodal treatment including surgery and radio-chemotherapy. Furthermore, histopathological assessment is often difficult and adding molecular information to classic neuropathological assessment may likely increase diagnostic accuracy, improve risk stratification of patients, and help to identify novel therapeutic targets for an individualized treatment approach.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Neurooncology and Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Till Milde & Olaf Witt M.D.

  2. German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Till Milde, Olaf Witt M.D. & Stefan M. Pfister

  3. Department of Neuropathology, University Medical Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 224, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Andrey Korshunov M.D.

  4. Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Stefan M. Pfister

  5. Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Hendrik Witt M.D.

  6. Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology & Immunology, University Medical Center for Children and Adolescents, Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Hendrik Witt M.D.

  7. Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Andrey Korshunov M.D.

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  1. Till Milde
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Correspondence to Till Milde .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Otolaryngology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, USA

    Matthias A. Karajannis

  2. Professor of Pathology and Neurosurgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, USA

    David Zagzag

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Milde, T., Korshunov, A., Witt, O., Pfister, S.M., Witt, H. (2015). Ependymoma. In: Karajannis, M., Zagzag, D. (eds) Molecular Pathology of Nervous System Tumors. Molecular Pathology Library, vol 8. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1830-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1830-0_5

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