Abstract
Brainstem gliomas represent a heterogeneous group of tumors that most commonly occur in the pediatric population (Reddy and Wellons 3rd, Cancer J 9:107–112, 2003). The clinical behavior of brainstem gliomas is commonly related to the location within the brainstem with tumors of the medulla and midbrain being lower grade and tumors within the pons being aggressive and often rapidly fatal (Youland et al., J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 35:197–2052, 2013). Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas are associated with the H3.3K27M mutation (Gajjar et al., J Clin Oncol 33:2986–2998, 2015). Radiation therapy has been shown to demonstrate some efficacy in the treatment modality for brainstem gliomas (Merchant et al., J Clin Oncol 27:3598–3604, 2009). Treatment volumes should be designed to encompass imaging abnormality on both contrast-enhanced and FLAIR MRI sequences. Stereotactic techniques are useful given the often small and eloquent target.
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References
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Further Reading
Gajjar A, Bowers DC, Karajannis MA, Leary S, Witt H, Gottardo NG (2015) Pediatric brain tumors: innovative genomic information is transforming the diagnostic and clinical landscape. J Clin Oncol 33(27):2986–2998
Merchant TE, Kun LE, Wu S, Xiong X, Sanford RA, Boop FA (2009) Phase II trial of conformal radiation therapy for pediatric low-grade glioma. J Clin Oncol 27(22):3598–3604
Reddy AT, Wellons JC 3rd (2003) Pediatric high-grade gliomas. Cancer J 9(2):107–112
Youland RS, Khwaja SS, Schomas DA, Keating GF, Wetjen NM, Laack NN (2013) Prognostic factors and survival patterns in pediatric low-grade gliomas over 4 decades. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 35(3):197–205
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Vern Gross, T.Z., Chan, M.D., Lucas, J.T. (2021). Brainstem Glioma. In: Halasz, L.M., Lo, S.S., Chang, E.L., Sahgal, A. (eds) Intracranial and Spinal Radiotherapy . Practical Guides in Radiation Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64508-3_16
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