Presentation
[…] classified into three categories: (a) Definitely congenital, those presenting or producing symptoms at birth (b) probably congenital, those producing symptoms within 1 st week of life and (c) possibly congenital presenting within 1 st month of life. [jcnonweb.com]
When seizures are present, patients are usually prescribed phenytoin (Dilantin), levetiracetam (Keppra) or carbamazepine (Tegretol). [brain-surgery.com]
The processed spectra show tha NNA is present. This indicates glial origin of the tumor. The post-operative diagnosis was ependymoma. [clinical.netforum.healthcare.philips.com]
The spinal fluid (CSF) can then be examined to see if there are any tumour cells present. MRI scans can also show this. [melissasfightingfund.co.uk]
Scans They will also need an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or CT (computerised tomography) scan to confirm whether a brain tumour is present. [thebraintumourcharity.org]
Entire Body System
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Crying
“I was crying all night and all day. I kept asking myself, ‘Why?’ I was put here to help people, to get them better, and here is my child with a prognosis that I know as a nurse is really, really bad. All I kept thinking about was death.” [mdanderson.org]
Neurologically baby had spontaneous eye opening, moving all four limbs, crying well and anterior fontanel was full but not tense. [jcnonweb.com]
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Collapse
My throat is so collapsed during sleep (and during the day) that I can't blast through the tissue with a CPAP machine. With the trach, you bypass this nerve-damaged tissue - but at a price (having a hole in your neck). [adultependymomabraintumor.com]
Respiratoric
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Hypoventilation
It appears that damage to my respiratory center in my brain stem from the 3rd surgery and/or the radiation caused complex sleep apnea and chronic hypoventilation, which is shallow breathing at night. [adultependymomabraintumor.com]
Gastrointestinal
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Recurrent Vomiting
General symptoms Enlargement of the head (in infants) Persistent headache (especially in the morning) Recurrent vomiting Seizures Changes in vision Sleepiness Cognitive difficulties (unexpected difficulties in, concentrating, remembering or thinking) [thebraintumourcharity.org]
Liver, Gall & Pancreas
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Jaundice
Congenital oligodendroglioma with initial manifestation of jaundice. Pediatr Neurol 2002;27:230-3. [Figure 1], [Figure 2] [jcnonweb.com]
Musculoskeletal
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Joint Stiffness
Characteristics include red or dark patches on the skin; burning, itching, swelling, hardening, and tightening of the skin; yellow spots on the whites of the eyes; joint stiffness with trouble moving or straightening the arms, hands, legs, or feet; pain [emedicine.medscape.com]
Neurologic
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Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizure
Baby was ventilated for 2 days postoperatively during which he had 1 episode of generalized tonic-clonic seizure and was treated with phenobarbitone. [jcnonweb.com]
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Screaming
I am so tried of people hang in there it will get better,I could just scream. They just don’t knowhat it feels like to struggle everyday to get out of bed. I have donated my body to science (whole body) for medical purposes ma… 4 people like this. [navigatingcancer.com]
Urogenital
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Cesarean Section
He was born to Gravida 2 Para 1 mother by lower segment cesarean section (nonconsanguineous union). Baby cried immediately after birth with APGAR score of 7 and 8 at 1 and 5 min respectively. Birth weight was 2.84 kg. [jcnonweb.com]
Workup
MRI is the diagnostic modality of choice in the workup and follow-up observation of intracranial neoplasms, including ependymoma. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Treatment
Treatment Options for Childhood Ependymoma For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section. [cancer.gov]
Treatment is usually based on the size of the tumour and if symptoms occur. The following are treatments for all grades of ependymoma: Surgery may be done to remove all of the tumour or as much of the tumour as possible. [cancer.ca]
The main treatments for ependymoma are surgery and sometimes radiotherapy. Your treatment will depend on the size, grade and position of the tumour, and your general health. [macmillan.org.uk]
If you have been offered treatment that aims to cure your cancer, deciding whether to have the treatment may not be difficult. [melissasfightingfund.co.uk]
Donations will help find cures and kinder treatments for children with cancer [birmingham.ac.uk]
Prognosis
Prognosis A prognosis is an estimate of the likely progress of a disease after a diagnosis, based on an average patient group. [braintumour.ca]
Microscopic examination is unreliable in determining the long-term prognosis. [childhoodbraintumor.org]
These tumor samples consistently tied to worse outcomes in children, suggesting a critical marker for predicting prognosis. [labblog.uofmhealth.org]
Etiology
Etiology To theorize the "cell of origin" of ependymomas and related tumors, one needs only to look back through the stages of normal ependymal cell development. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Epidemiology
Epidemiology: Intracranial ependymomas comprise approximately 6% to 9% of all primary CNS tumors. In children younger than 3 years, ependymomas represent 30% of primary CNS tumors. The incidence is equal in females and males. [brain-surgery.com]
Molecular subgroup epidemiology Each molecular subgroup has different epidemiological profile 13 : infratentorial Posterior Fossa A M:F 2:1 age: young children Posterior Fossa B M:F 1:1 age: older children and teenagers supratentorial RELA fusion M:F [radiopaedia.org]
Pediatr Blood Cancer 52 : 65–69 McGuire CS, Sainani KL, Fisher PG (2009b) Incidence patterns for ependymoma: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results study. [nature.com]
Definition / general Slowly growing tumor of ependymal cells arising from walls of ventricles or spinal canal Exhibit glial (GFAP ) and epithelial (EMA ) differentiation Epidemiology 3 - 9% of primary CNS tumors More common in children / young adults [pathologyoutlines.com]
Currently, the Surveillance Epidemiology and the End Results (SEER) Program and the Central Brain Tumor Registry (CBTRUS) group all grades of ependymomas together for reporting purposes. [cern-foundation.org]
Pathophysiology
Gross anatomy of ependymoma of the 4th ventricle Pathophysiology: Ependymoma brain tumors are believed to grow in response to special genetic conformations that change normal ependymal cells into tumor producing cells. [brain-surgery.com]
Prevention
Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. Find out more about clinical trials . [cancer.ca]
Hospital for Sick Children Health A-Z Search a complete list of child health articles expand_more View All Drug A-Z Search a list of articles about medications expand_more View All Learning Hubs Browse a complete list of content groups Healthy Living & Prevention [aboutkidshealth.ca]
As far as preventing regrowth, there is no standard that I've found, nothing recommended by any doctors, but an abundance of pseudo-science ideas. [inspire.com]
Radiation: Ependymomas are very sensitive to radiation so fractionated radiation is usually recommended after surgery to prevent tumor re-growth. Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is occasionally used in the treatment of ependymomas. [ucdenver.edu]
Anticonvulsants If you have seizures (fits), you may be given drugs called anticonvulsants to help prevent them. [macmillan.org.uk]