|
Treatment Option Overview
| Key Points for This Section
|
|
There are different types of treatment for children with
cerebral astrocytoma.
Different types of treatment are available for children with cerebral astrocytoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used
treatment), and some are being tested in clinical
trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to
help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for
patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better
than the “standard” treatment, the
new treatment may become the standard treatment.
Because cancer in children is rare, taking part in a clinical trial
should be considered. Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the
country. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the
NCI Web site. Choosing the most appropriate cancer treatment is a
decision that ideally involves the patient, family, and health care
team.
Children with cerebral astrocytoma should have their
treatment planned by a team of doctors with expertise in treating childhood
brain tumors.
Your child’s treatment will be overseen by a pediatric oncologist, a doctor who specializes
in treating children with cancer. The pediatric oncologist may refer you to
other pediatric doctors who have experience and expertise in treating children
with brain tumors and who specialize
in certain areas of medicine. These may include the following
specialists:
Some cancer treatments cause side effects that continue or appear years after cancer treatment has ended. These are called late effects. Late effects of cancer treatment may include physical problems; changes in mood, feelings, thinking, learning or memory; and having second cancers (new types of cancer). Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the possible late effects caused by some treatments. Refer to the PDQ summary on Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer for more information.
Three types of standard treatment are used:
Surgery
Surgery is used to diagnose and treat childhood cerebral astrocytoma as discussed in the General Information section of this summary. For patients with slow-growing tumors who are having seizures, MRI -guided surgery may be used to control both seizures and tumor growth.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. Radiation therapy may be used in addition to chemotherapy.
Because radiation therapy can affect growth and brain development
in young children, it is often used only when the cancer has started to spread. Newer ways of giving radiation are being studied that may have fewer side effects than standard methods. Conformal radiation therapy uses a computer to create a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor. This allows doctors to give the highest possible dose of radiation to the tumor, while sparing as much normal tissue as possible.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly in the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
Clinical trials are studying ways of using chemotherapy to
delay or reduce the need for radiation therapy.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical
trials.
High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant
High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant is a method of giving high doses of chemotherapy and replacing blood -forming cells destroyed by the cancer treatment. Stem cells (immature blood cells) are removed from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or a donor and are frozen and stored. After the chemotherapy is completed, the stored stem cells are thawed and given back to the patient through an infusion. These reinfused stem cells grow into (and restore) the body’s blood cells.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in
clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied.
Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the
NCI Web site.
 Back to Top
< Previous Section | Next Section > |
