Brain tumor - children

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Brain

Primary brain tumor

Glioblastoma multiforme - children; Ependymoma - children; Glioma - children; Astrocytoma - children; Medulloblastoma - children; Neuroglioma - children; Oligodendroglioma - children; Meningioma - children; Cancer - brain tumor (children)

The specific symptoms vary, but may include:

• Headache -- continues and is worse when the child wakes up
• Vomiting -- more severe in the morning
• Nausea
• Personality and behavior changes
• Mood wings (emotional changes)
• Loss of memory
• Judgment problems
• Seizures
• Reduced alertness
• Vision problems, including double vision and decreased vision
• Hearing loss
• Decreased sensation of a body area
• Weakness of a body area
• Speech difficulties
• Decreased coordination -- can cause falls
• Fever (sometimes)
• Weakness, lethargy
• General ill feeling
• Decerebrate posture
• Decorticate posture

Infants may have the following signs and symptoms:

• Bulging fontanelles
• Separated sutures
• Opisthotonos
• Increased head circumference
• No red reflex in the eye

Additional symptoms that may be associated with primary brain tumors:

• Tongue problems
• Swallowing difficulty
• Problems with the sense of smell
• Obesity
• Uncontrollable movement
• Dysfunctional movement
• Absent menstruation
• Hiccups
• Hand tremor
• Facial paralysis
• Eye problems, including different sized pupils, uncontrollable eye movements, and eyelid drooping
• Confusion
• Breathing problems

The health care provider will perform a physical exam. The child may have a positive Babinski's reflex. The physical exam can often identify signs and symptoms that are specific to the location of the tumor. However, some tumors may not cause symptoms until they are very large and cause a rapid decline in the child's mental function.

The following tests may be used to detect a brain tumor and identify its location:

• CT scan of the head
• MRI of the head
• EEG
• CT-guided biopsy (may confirm the exact type of tumor)
• Examination of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)

Review Date: 10/31/2006
Reviewed By: Rita Nanda, M.D., Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.