New concepts in the treatment of brain tumors in very young children

Abstract

The treatment of brain tumors in infants (children <3 years of age) in the last 15–20 years has been a special field of interest for clinical investigation and research, since infants affected by brain tumors are an ideal experimental group of patients. New treatment strategies (conventional, myeloablative and intraventricular chemotherapy) have been tested on these patients in an effort to avoid or delay conventional irradiation. The amazing amount of knowledge that has been acquired from neuropathological and biological studies, as well as from the first generation treatment baby protocols, which were designed between 1985 and 2000, is now leading to a new approach whereby treatment strategies are tailored to the patient’s clinicopathological features.

Keywords::

• brain tumors
• cancer
• delayed surgery
• familial cancer syndromes
• infants
• late effects
• myeloablative chemotherapy
• rare diseases
• wait and see

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Associazione per la Ricerca sui Tumori Cerebrali del Bambino, Italian Association for Cancer Research, Roberta Cancedda and Valerie Perricone for their technical assistance.