Clinical characteristics and differentiation of childhood brain tumors

Among the 40,000 new brain tumor patients in my country each year, children account for a large proportion, accounting for 16% of all brain tumor patients, ranking second only to leukemia among children's tumors.

The symptoms of brain tumors in children are not typical, and they often include headaches, vomiting, vision loss, unsteady walking, etc., which can easily lead to misdiagnosis. It is worth mentioning that brain tumors in children are very different from those in adults. In addition to the different typical ages of onset, the onset sites, common types, growth rates, and degree of adhesion to the dura mater of brain tumors in children and adults are also different.

1. Different sites of disease

More than two-thirds of adult brain tumors occur in the cerebral hemispheres and the pontocerebellopontine angle, while about half of childhood brain tumors occur in the infratentorial area, that is, in the cerebellum and brainstem, such as the sella turcica area, the third ventricle, and the fourth ventricle.

2. Different common types

About 40% of adult tumors are benign, such as meningioma, pituitary tumor and acoustic neuroma, while sarcoma-like changes are rare. The most common tumor in children is glioma, accounting for up to 70%.

3. Different growth rates

Meningiomas in adults usually grow slowly and have a long course of illness; whereas in children, tumors often grow rapidly and can be quite large by the time they present for treatment.

4. Degree of adhesion to the dura mater

Most adult meningiomas have adhesions to the dura mater, but in many children, the tumors have no adhesions to the dura mater, which may be related to the tumor coming from the arachnoid mater or pia mater.