In 2000 the incidence of tumors was 6.7 per 100,000 persons.
More than 41,000 cases per year in the U.S.
Account for 1.35% of al cancers and 2.2% of all cancer related deaths.
Worldwide approximately 176,000 cases per year are diagnosed and an estimated annual mortality of 128,000.
Most common malignancies in children younger than 15 years.
CNS tumors represent the leading cause of death due to cancer in children, surpassing leukemia.
The incidence for childhood CNS tumors is approximately 55 cases per million children per year, in the most common tumor types are astrocytoma and medulloblastoma.
In children 60% occur in the posterior fossa.
Gliomas make up approximately 51% of all CNS tumors.
Patients suffer with impaired cognition, fatigue, mood disorders, sleep disturbances, sexual dysfunction along with neurologic signs and symptoms.
Postoperative chemotherapy is standard management in treatment of infants and very young children to delay or avoid the use of radiation therapy, because of its adverse neuropsychological and neuroendocrine effects on these children.
Use of cisplatin based chemotherapy in children less than 3 years of age with such lesions have a response rates of 40% and median time to progression 6-9 months (Duffner).