Key Points for This Section

The area where the tumor is found and the child’s age are used in place of a staging system to plan cancer treatment. There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body. The information from tests and procedures done to detect (find) childhood ependymoma is used to plan cancer treatment.

The area where the tumor is found and the child’s age are used in place of a staging system to plan cancer treatment.

Staging is the process used to find out how much cancer there is and if cancer has spread. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.

There is no standard staging system for childhood ependymoma. Instead, the plan for cancer treatment after surgery depends on the following:

• Whether any cancer cells remain after surgery.
• Whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the brain or spinal cord.
• The age of the child.

There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body.

The three ways that cancer spreads in the body are:

• Through tissue. Cancer invades the surrounding normal tissue.
• Through the lymph system. Cancer invades the lymph system and travels through the lymph vessels to other places in the body.
• Through the blood. Cancer invades the veins and capillaries and travels through the blood to other places in the body.

When cancer cells break away from the primary (original) tumor and travel through the lymph or blood to other places in the body, another (secondary) tumor may form. This process is called metastasis. The secondary (metastatic) tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones are actually breast cancer cells. The disease is metastatic breast cancer, not bone cancer.

The information from tests and procedures done to detect (find) childhood ependymoma is used to plan cancer treatment.

Some of the tests used to detect childhood ependymoma are repeated after the tumor is removed by surgery. (See the General Information section.) This is to find out how much tumor remains after surgery. Another procedure that may be done to find out if cancer has spread is a lumbar puncture. A lumbar puncture is a procedure used to collect cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal column. This is done by placing a needle into the spinal column. This procedure is also called an LP or spinal tap.

Back to Top

< Previous Section  |  Next Section >