![]() make a hole to drain fluid into another area of the brain (ventriculostomy).Your child’s surgeon can do this at the same time as removing their tumour. Treatment to reduce this is an operation. problems with their strength, balance or coordination.Some tumours cause a fluid build up in the brain. They’re highly skilled professionals in looking after children with brain tumours. A paediatric neurosurgeon does the operation. Hearing your child needs brain surgery can feel very frightening. This is to find out what type of medulloblastoma it is. At the same time, your child’s surgeon takes a piece of the tumour to look at under the microscope. Your child has surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible. Surgery is usually the first treatment your child will have. Both you and your child will be involved in decisions about treatment and care. Your child’s specialist team decides on the best treatment for your child. Rarely some children have chemotherapy first to shrink the tumour before surgery. The main treatments for medulloblastoma are:Įach child has their own treatment plan. They hope to make treatments targeted to these subtypes in the future. Researchers want to learn more about these differences in medulloblastoma. This includes how well treatment might work. Knowing about the different subtypes of medulloblastoma helps doctors understand the tumour better. subtype 2 – sonic hedgehog (SHH) medulloblastoma.subtype 1 – wingless (WNT) medulloblastoma.This means we can now group medulloblastoma into 4 further subtypes. Using new techniques, scientists can also look inside the medulloblastoma cells at the genes and proteins. And what this means for your child’s treatment plan. Talk with your child’s consultant about their type of medulloblastoma. Take your child to your GP if you are worried your child has a symptom of a brain tumour. a swollen soft spot on top of the skull (fontanelle).an increasing head size (head circumference).behaviour changes – they might be interacting with you or their siblings lessĭuring a young infant’s routine development check up, symptoms sometimes picked up are:.being more fractious or irritable – it might be taking longer than usual to get your young child to settle.finding it hard to sit or stand unsupported – your child might often fall backwards.feeling or being sick – being sick often makes the headaches feel better.Some are similar to less serious childhood illnesses. Many symptoms are general and non specific. Your child might have symptoms for a few weeks or months before they are diagnosed with medulloblastoma. Find out about possible causes and risks of cancer in children.nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) – also known as Gorlin syndrome.familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) - sometimes known as Turcot syndrome.Less than 5 out of every 100 cases of medulloblastoma (less than 5%) are linked with either: But remember, not every child with one of these syndromes develops medulloblastoma. We know there is an increased risk of medulloblastoma with some inherited family cancer syndromes. We don’t know what causes most childhood cancers or how to prevent them. Most people worry about what caused their child to develop cancer. Medulloblastoma is most commonly diagnosed in children between the ages of 3 and 8 years. This is due to the discovery of specific genetic and molecular information.ĭoctors used to talk about medulloblastoma as a primitive neuro ectodermal tumour (PNET). Recently, research has been able to identify new types and subtypes of medulloblastoma. Around 30 out of 100 children (around 30%) have medulloblastoma that has spread when they are first diagnosed. Medulloblastoma is likely to grow quickly and can spread to other areas of the brain and spinal cord. Medulloblastoma develops at the back of the brain in the cerebellum. Adults can also get this type of tumour, but it is rare. It’s the most common malignant (high grade) children’s brain tumour.Īround 52 children are diagnosed with medulloblastoma each year in the UK. Medulloblastoma is the second most common brain tumour in children.
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