More About Brain Tumours

More about brain tumours...

To all our visitors

Please note that the information on this website is of a general nature, available for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a medical professional or health care provider.  Should you have any concerns about your health, or of that of your baby or child, please consult with your doctor.   

The most common brain tumours in Children & Young People

The most common brain tumour that occurs in children and that can occur at any age is the glioma.  Gliomas constitute for almost 75 percent of the childhood/paediatric brain tumours. 


Gliomas develop in what are called 'glial cells'.  These glial cells are the supportive or gluey tissue of the brain.  There are two major types of Glial tumours namely: astrocytoma and ependymomas. 


Gliomas negatively effects the functioning of the brain cells and so can be life threatening or life limiting. 

Categories of brain tumours

Low Grade Vs High Grade

Brain tumours can be categorised into grades depending on how irregular the tumour cells and tissues appear when seen under a microscope. Keeping the variances in the microscopic appearance as reference, doctors allocate a mathematical grade to the tumours. 


Brain tumours can be graded on a scale of 1 to 4. Scale 1 and 2 are low grade tumours and scale 3 and 4 are high grade tumours. Grades are a pointer of the likely growth and extent of tumours. Grades of tumour also help determine the type and course of treatment.


Low grade tumours are those which develop slowly. The cells appear almost similar to normal cells when seen under a microscope. They are usually contained and generally don’t spread to other areas. The chances of them reappearing after being fully removed are generally low. 


High grade tumours, in comparison, grow very quickly and possibly spread to adjoining areas. They are aggressive or malignant in nature and may require a comprehensive set of treatments to tackle them. They are likely to reappear even after exhaustive treatment. Low grade tumours have improved chance of prognosis than high grade tumours.

Localised Vs Invasive

Brain tumours which usually remain contained in their primary place of origin are called localized tumour. 


They are unlikely to spread to other parts of the brain and are relatively easier to treat. 


Brain tumours that possibly spread and intrude into to the nearby areas are referred to as invasive tumours. 


They are more difficult to treat as it is very hard to remove them fully.

Primary Vs Secondary

Primary brain tumours originate in the brain. Secondary brain tumours are those tumours that start in some other part of the body but gradually spread to the brain. Most paediatric brain tumours are primary.

Common Types of Primary Brain Tumours

Astrocytoma


Astrocytoma generally appears in children of 5 to 8 years. 


This type of tumour grows from astrocytes which are cells in the shape of a star. 


These cells form the supportive or “gluey” tissue of the brain. 


They may appear in the cerebrum or cerebellum part of the brain. 


Astrocytoma tumours are graded from scale I to scale IV depending on the behaviour of the normal or abnormal cells. 


Low grade astrocytoma (scale 1 and 2) grow slowly and are generally contained. 


High grade astrocytoma (scale 2 and 4) grow rapidly and may spread to other areas. Most paediatric astrocytoma tumours are low-grade.  There are four grades of these astrocytoma tumours: 




Pilocytic Astrocytoma (grade 1)

This type of tumour grows slowly and is usually localized. Pilocytic astrocytoma can be cerebellar astrocytoma (appear in the cerebellum) and desmoplastic infantile astrocytoma. 
Diffuse Astrocytoma (grade 2)

This kind of tumour intrudes into the nearby brain tissue but they grow at a considerable slow rate. Types of Diffuse Astrocytoma are Fibrillary, Gemistocytic, Protoplasmic astrocytoma. 
Anaplastic Astrocytoma (grade 3)

These occur rarely but are aggressive in nature. 

Glioblastoma Multiforme (grade 4)


These are of two kinds; primary and secondary. Primary tumours occur more commonly and are highly malignant in nature. The secondary tumours appear as a low grade tumour but may develop into a malignant tumour.  

Ependymoma

Ependymomas originate from the ependymal cells that are present along the ventricles of brain and the centre of the spinal cord. This kind of tumour can be divided into sub ependymomas (grade 1), myxopapillary ependymomas (grade 1), which grow slowly, ependymomas (grade 2) the most commonly occurring ependymal tumour and anaplastic ependymomas (grade 3) which grow very fast. These types of tumour develop in different parts of the brain and spinal cord. 

Brain stem gliomas


These types of tumours are quite rare and develop in the brain stem’s tissue. They are normally very challenging to remove surgically. Brainstem gliomas begin in the brain or spinal column and steadily spread to other parts of the nervous system. These tumours may show no symptoms till it has grown very large.  

Medulloblastomas


Paediatric medulloblastomas are malignant high-grade tumours that develop in the cerebellum and tend to spread through the cerebrospinal fluid.  

Craniopharyngiomas


These tumours are benign and normally do not invade other parts of the brain or body. They are generally a mix of solid mass and cysts filled with fluid. They occur in the lower part of brain close to the pituitary gland.  

Germ cell tumours


These tumours normally develop in the testes or ovaries and can also form in other parts of the body like brain, chest, abdomen and lower part of the spine. They can be either malignant or benign. Types of germ cell tumours are yolk-sac tumours, germinomas, mature and immature teratomas.  

Pontine gliomas


These tumours are high grade tumours, very aggressive in nature. They grow in the pons (middle) of brainstem. These tumours are difficult to remove as they develop in the nerve cells of the brainstem which is an essential part of brain that is responsible for many motor functions of the body.

Optic nerve gliomas


These tumours grow slowly and are located in or about the optic nerve that links the eye to the brain. As the tumour grows, it puts pressure on the optic nerve and can severely harm the eyesight.  

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