Brain Tumor Center

Patient and Family Education

Childhood Ependymoma

Treatment Options

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There are three primary treatment options for patients with childhood ependymoma:

radiation therapy
surgery
chemotherapy

More than one method of treatment may be used, depending on the needs of the patient.

Radiation Therapy:

Because tumors in the brain often cannot be removed, radiation therapy is the most common treatment for children over 3 years of age with ependymomas. Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from x-rays and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy for ependymomas usually comes from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy).

Surgery:

Surgery is used when possible to treat ependymomas. Depending on the location of the tumor, the child's doctor may remove as much of the tumor as possible by creating an opening in the skull in an operation called a craniotomy. If the ependymoma is in a place where it cannot be removed, surgery may be limited to a biopsy of the cancer.

Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy may be given to delay or eliminate the need for radiation. Most chemotherapy drugs are injected into a vein (IV) or a muscle; some are given by mouth. Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, meaning that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every part of the body to kill cancerous cells. It is generally given in cycles; a treatment period is followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on. Chemotherapy is being studied in clinical trials as a means of delaying or eliminating the need for radiation therapy in younger patients, as well as for use prior to or during radiation therapy.

This page was last updated on: September 22, 2009.