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Treatment of childhood ependymoma in the brain or brain stem
Source: Childhood Ependymoma, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: November 5, 2024 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Treatment of newly diagnosed childhood ependymoma in the brain or brain stem includes surgery.
After surgery, the plan for further treatment depends on:
the ependymoma subtype
whether any cancer cells remain after surgery
whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the brain or spinal cord
your child's age
When the tumor is completely removed and cancer cells have not spread, treatment may include radiation therapy.
When part of the tumor remains after surgery, but cancer cells have not spread, treatment may include:
a second surgery to remove as much of the remaining tumor as possible
radiation therapy
chemotherapy before radiation therapy
When cancer cells have spread within the brain and spinal cord, treatment may include:
radiation therapy to the brain and spinal cord
chemotherapy
Treatment for children younger than 1 year of age may include:
chemotherapy
a clinical trial of 3-dimensional (3-D) conformal radiation therapy or proton-beam radiation therapy
Source links and citations
Radiation therapy is not given to children until they are older than 1 year.
To learn more about these treatments, see Types of treatment for childhood ependymoma.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice