title: Managing teenage/young adult (TYA) brain tumors: a UK perspective.
abstract: Tumors of the CNS are among the commonest malignancies occurring in teenage/young adult patients (i.e., those aged between 15 and 24 years). The treatment of this patient population is challenging. Adolescence and young adulthood are a turbulent period of life, with physical, emotional, social and cognitive changes. Best practice advocates their treatment in dedicated teenage/young adult units, with multidisciplinary team input and access to clinical trials. Treatment of CNS malignancies is dependent upon histological subtype and staging, with varying combinations of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy used. Clinical trials directly targeted at this patient population are rare; treatments are based on pediatric protocols as studies have demonstrated improved outcomes in patients (with other malignancies) treated as such. Scope for improvement lies in minimizing patient risk of recurrence and long-term sequelae of treatment. Molecular characterization of tumors may provide further information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuro Oncology, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, UK.
authors.forename: Scheryll P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Alken
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Salford Royal Hospital Foundation Trust, Salford, UK.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Urso
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuro Oncology, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, UK.
authors.forename: Frank H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Saran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005910:Glioma / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D018242:Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: DIPG; TYA; adolescent; germ cell tumor; germinoma; medulloblastoma; pontine glioma; teenage