title: Diffuse medulla oblongata and pontine gliomas in childhood. A review of 37 cases.
abstract: From 1975 to 1997, thirty seven newly diagnosed children aged 2 mos. to 14.3 years with diffuse medulla oblongata or pontine tumours were referred to the Centre Léon Bérard. Surgical biopsies were performed in 9 patients. All but one received radiation therapy. The mean dose of radiation was 53 Gy. Thirty two received chemotherapy. All patients died, one from related toxicity, and the rest from progressive disease. Relapses always occurred in the radiotherapy field. Medulla oblongata and pontine tumours would appear to have the worst outcome of all brain stem gliomas and should be separately analysed.
authors.affiliation: Radiation Oncology Department, Centre Léon Bérard, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France. carrue@lyon.fnclcc.fr
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carrie
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Negrier
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thiesse
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mottolese
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frappaz
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouffet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata; D011149:Pons; D011379:Prognosis