Childhood Ependymoma Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version

General Information About Childhood Ependymoma

KEY POINTS

Childhood ependymoma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.
There are different types of ependymomas.
The part of the brain that is affected depends on where the ependymoma forms.
The cause of most childhood brain tumors is unknown.
The signs and symptoms of childhood ependymoma are not the same in every child.
Tests that examine the brain and spinal cord are used to detect (find) childhood ependymoma.
Childhood ependymoma is diagnosed and removed in surgery.
Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.

Childhood ependymoma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.

The brain controls vital functions such as memory and learning, emotion, and the senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch). The spinal cord is made up of bundles of nerve fibers that connect the brain with nerves in most parts of the body.

Ependymomas form from ependymal cells that line the ventricles and passageways in the brain and the spinal cord. Ependymal cells make cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

This summary is about the treatment of primary brain tumors (tumors that begin in the brain). Treatment of metastatic brain tumors, which are tumors that begin in other parts of the body and spread to the brain, is not discussed in this summary.

There are many different types of brain tumors. Brain tumors can occur in both children and adults. However, treatment for children is different than treatment for adults. See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

There are different types of ependymomas.

The World Health Organization (WHO) groups ependymal tumors into five main subtypes:

Subependymoma (WHO grade I; rare in children).
Myxopapillary ependymoma (WHO grade I).
Ependymoma (WHO grade II).
RELA fusion–positive ependymoma (WHO grade II or grade III with change in the RELA gene).
Anaplastic ependymoma (WHO grade III).

The grade of a tumor describes how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread. Low-grade (grade I) cancer cells look more like normal cells than high-grade cancer cells (grade II and III). Grade I cancer cells also tend to grow and spread more slowly than grade II and III cancer cells.