[Tumors of the CNS in childhood]

Brain tumors are the most common group of solid malignancies in childhood. The therapeutic arms available nowadays: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, have achieved considerable improvement in the survival of some types of CNS tumors, mainly due to the first two. We have carried out a retrospective study of 252 CNS tumors, diagnosed in the GICOP group during the last ten years. The primary location was: supratentorial, 42%; infratentorial, 51%; and both, 7%. Biopsies were performed in 190 cases (75%), resulting in the following histologic types: astrocytoma (38%), medulloblastoma (19%), ependymoma (14%), craniopharyngioma (7%), others (22%). The treatment was individualized according to the patient characteristics: age, location, histologic type and tumor spreading. Surgery was performed in 82% of patients (8% only derivative shunt), radiotherapy in 48% and chemotherapy in 23%. The life survival was 60% at 50 months.