New insight into treatment options for rare childhood brain tumour
A new study led by Australian researchers has outlined for the first time the best treatment options for children suffering from meningioma -- a rare type of paediatric brain tumour.
The research, published online in The Lancet Oncology was undertaken at Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, in collaboration with Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, the University of Western Australia and 17 other centres around the world.
Lead author, Dr Rishi Kotecha, said his interest in the rare tumour, meningioma, was prompted by two recent cases in Western Australia.
"Whilst meningioma is relatively common in adults, it is rare in children, hence our knowledge regarding risk factors and treatment options has been limited," Dr Kotecha said.
The study found that aggressive surgical management is more likely to improve prognosis and no benefit for the use of radiotherapy as initial treatment for meningioma in children.
"We have found a number of contrasting features of childhood meningioma compared to those in adults and this reflects the need for more research into how meningioma may behave differently in children."
Dr Kotecha said the study also demonstrated the value of international collaboration in gathering sufficient data for rare diseases.
"We scoured the literature for cases around the world and the findings are only possible because of the cooperation and contribution of so many cancer research centres around the world."