Read article Treatment for ependymoma
This page is about the treatments for ependymoma brain tumours. There is information about
Treatment for ependymoma
Ependymomas can grow in the brain, or in the spinal cord. They can also spread into the fluid that surrounds the brain. This means they may spread into other areas of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. The main treatment is surgery to remove as much as possible of the tumour. It is sometimes possible to completely remove it. You usually have a course of radiotherapy afterwards to lower the risk of the ependymoma coming back.
Your specialist may also suggest chemotherapy, especially if the ependymoma has come back after it was first treated. Chemotherapy can slow down the growth of the tumour and help with symptoms.
Children under 3
Children under 3 are most likely to have surgery and then chemotherapy instead of radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is more likely to cause long term side effects in young children. So doctors use chemotherapy to keep a young child's tumour under control until they are 3 and then give radiotherapy.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the treating brain tumours section.
These brain tumours can grow in the brain, or in the spinal cord.
They can be low grade or high grade (anaplastic). They can spread into the fluid that surrounds the brain, so sometimes may spread into other areas of the lining of the brain and spinal cord.
The main treatment is surgery to remove as much as possible of the tumour. It is sometimes possible to completely remove an ependymoma. You usually have a course of radiotherapy after you have recovered from surgery. The radiotherapy is to lower the risk of the ependymoma coming back. You have radiotherapy just to the area that contained the tumour if there is no sign of any ependymoma cells in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. The fluid is called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). If there are cancer cells in the CSF then your doctor is likely to recommend radiotherapy to the whole brain and spinal cord.
Your specialist may also suggest chemotherapy, especially if the ependymoma has come back after it was first treated. Treatment can slow down the growth of the tumour and help with symptoms.
The specialist will decide the exact treatment but it could include any of these drugs
Usually you would have a number of these drugs together as combination chemotherapy.
You can read about current research into ependymoma on the CancerHelp UK brain tumour research page.
Children under 3 are most likely to have chemotherapy instead of radiotherapy after surgery. If at all possible, cancer specialists don't like to treat children under 3 with radiotherapy. Their young age makes them more likely to develop long term radiotherapy side effects. So they use chemotherapy to keep a young child's tumour under control. The exact combination of drugs and the timing of treatment varies. Generally, your child is likely to have chemotherapy every 8 weeks for about a year.
Rated 4 out of 5 based on 2 votes
- Share this: Tweet
-
-
- Print this page
-
Email this page
Increase text size
Decrease text size
Print page
Print basket
Save pages here and print in one go
Nurse helpline
Questions about cancer? Call freephone
0808 800 4040
or email us
