Abstract
Recent insights into the biology of brain tumors form the basis for ongoing changes in their classification. Integrating appropriate molecular studies into the clinical diagnosis of pediatric brain tumors allows a better stratification of these tumors. For the future this approach also holds the promise of a more targeted and hopefully more effective treatment approach for affected patients. In the case of infiltrating gliomas, the molecular data supports the notion that most pediatric gliomas are biologically distinct from adult-age tumors even if they exhibit overlapping or identical histomorphologic features. For medulloblastomas and ependymomas, the integration of molecular information into the clinical diagnosis allows more accurate prognostication and a more nuanced approach in deciding on aggressive chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
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Pytel, P., Fitzpatrick, C. (2018). Pediatric Brain Tumors. In: Furtado, L., Husain, A. (eds) Precision Molecular Pathology of Neoplastic Pediatric Diseases . Molecular Pathology Library. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89626-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89626-7_7
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