Journal of Pediatrics and Palliative Care | Volume 2 | Issue 2 | 2017-12-24

Recent clinical advances in therapy for paediatric brain tumours

Rasika Samarasinghe

Abstract

Paediatric brain tumours are the leading cause of mortality in children with solid tumours, with a very poor survival rate that has only changed marginally in the last 30 years. Current standard therapies together with adjuvant chemotherapeutics have shown improvements in progression-free survival rates, however they have failed to improve overall response to treatment and long term survival of patients. Recent advances in molecular and genetic features have shed a light to new and emerging therapies, which may help overcome the challenges seen with conventional therapies. This review outlines the recent advances stated in understanding the aetiology of paediatric brain cancers and recent therapies that are investigated in clinical trials for paediatric patients with brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumours.

Keywords: Paediatric oncology, brain, CNS tumours, clinical trials