Childhood cerebellar astrocytoma is a disease in which benign (noncancer) or malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the brain.
Astrocytomas are tumors that develop from brain cells called astrocytes. Cerebellar astrocytomas start in the cerebellum, which is located at the lower back of the brain. The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls movement, balance, and posture.
About 15-25% of all childhood brain tumors are cerebellar astrocytomas. Although cancer is rare in children, brain tumors are the most common type of childhood cancer other than leukemia and lymphoma.
This summary refers to the treatment of primary brain tumors (tumors that begin in the brain). Treatment for metastatic brain tumors, which are tumors formed by cancer cells that begin in other parts of the body and spread to the brain, is not discussed in this summary.
Brain tumors can occur in both children and adults; however, treatment for children may be different than treatment for adults. See the following PDQ treatment summaries for more information:
The cause of most childhood brain tumors is unknown.
The symptoms of childhood cerebellar astrocytoma vary and often depend on the child’s age and where the tumor is located.
These and other symptoms may be caused by an astrocytoma. Other conditions may cause the same symptoms. A doctor should be consulted if any of the following problems occur:
Tests that examine the brain and spinal cord are used to detect (find) childhood cerebellar astrocytoma.
The following tests and procedures may be used:
Childhood cerebellar astrocytoma is diagnosed and removed in surgery.
If a brain tumor is suspected, a biopsy is done by removing part of the skull and using a needle to remove a sample of the brain tissue. A pathologist views the tissue under a microscope to look for cancer cells. If cancer cells are found, the doctor will remove as much tumor as safely possible during the same surgery.
Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) depends on:
Treatment options depend on:
The grade of the tumor is used in place of a staging system to plan cancer treatment.
Staging is the process used to find out how much cancer there is and if cancer has spread. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.
There is no standard staging system for childhood cerebellar astrocytoma. Instead, the grade of the tumor is used to plan treatment. The grade of the tumor describes how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread.
The following grades are used:
Cerebellar astrocytomas usually do not spread from the cerebellum to other parts of the brain or body.
The information from tests and procedures done to detect (find) childhood cerebellar astrocytoma is used to plan cancer treatment.
Some of the tests used to detect childhood cerebellar astrocytoma are repeated after the tumor is removed. (See the General Information section.) This is to find out how much tumor remains after surgery and plan further treatment.
Recurrent childhood cerebellar astrocytoma is a tumor that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. Childhood cerebellar astrocytoma may recur many years after initial treatment. The tumor may recur at the same place in the brain or in other parts of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), especially if the original tumor was a diffuse or fibrillary tumor.
There are different types of treatment for children with cerebellar astrocytoma.
Different types of treatment are available for children with cerebellar astrocytoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.
Because cancer in children is rare, taking part in a clinical trial should be considered. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Children with cerebellar astrocytoma should have their treatment planned by a team of health care providers who are experts in treating childhood brain tumors.
Treatment will be overseen by a pediatric oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating children with cancer. The pediatric oncologist works with other pediatric health care providers who are experts in treating children with brain tumors and who specialize in certain areas of medicine. These may include the following specialists:
Childhood brain and spinal cord tumors may cause symptoms that begin before diagnosis and continue for months or years.
Childhood brain and spinal cord tumors may cause symptoms that continue for months or years. Symptoms caused by the tumor may begin before diagnosis. Symptoms caused by treatment may begin during or right after treatment.
Some cancer treatments cause side effects months or years after treatment has ended.
These are called late effects. Late effects of cancer treatment may include the following:
Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the effects cancer treatment can have on your child. (See the PDQ summary on Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer for more information).
Three types of standard treatment are used:
Surgery
Surgery is used to diagnose and treat childhood cerebellar astrocytoma as discussed in the General Information section of this summary.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). Combination chemotherapy is the use of more than one anticancer drug. The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's clinical trials database.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests. This is sometimes called re-staging.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.
Untreated childhood cerebellar astrocytoma is a tumor for which no treatment has been given. The child may have received drugs or treatment to relieve symptoms caused by the tumor.
Initial treatment for childhood cerebellar astrocytoma is usually surgery. When the tumor is completely removed by surgery, more treatment may not be needed and the child is closely observed for symptoms to appear or change. This is also called watchful waiting.
If cancer cells remain after surgery, treatment depends on the location of the remaining cancer cells and the age of the child. Standard treatment may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with untreated childhood cerebellar astrocytoma.
Standard treatment of recurrent childhood cerebellar astrocytoma may include the following:
Some of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for recurrent childhood cerebellar astrocytoma include new anticancer drugs.
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent childhood cerebellar astrocytoma.
For more information from the National Cancer Institute about childhood brain tumors, see the following:
For more childhood cancer information and other general cancer resources from the National Cancer Institute, see the following:
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The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Changes were made to this summary to match those made to the health professional version.
Several enhancements have been made to this summary to better explain certain medical concepts and to help readers find information about clinical trials. The following changes were made:
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