There are many different types of benign and malignant brain and spinal tumors. They are usually categorized by either the type of cell where the tumor begins or the area of the brain or spine where they occur. Ask your treatment team for more information about a specific type of brain or spinal tumor. Be aware that different names are sometimes used for the same type of tumor; the most common types include the following:

Gliomas Ependymomas Optic nerve glioma Brain stem glioma or cerebellar glioma Oligodendroglioma Oligoastrocytoma Low grade astrocytoma Anaplastic Astrocytoma (AA) Gliobastoma Multiforme (GBM)   Craniopharyngioma   Germinomas   Medulloblastomas   Meningiomas   Metastatic tumors   Pituitary tumors   Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma   Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET)   Schwannomas   Pineal region tumors

Brain stem glioma or cerebellar glioma Brain stem gliomas are tumors found in the brain stem. Most brain stem tumors cannot be surgically removed because of the remote location and delicate and complex function this area controls. Brain stem gliomas occur almost exclusively in children; the group most often affected is the school-age child. The child usually does not have increased intracranial pressure (ICP), but may have problems with double vision, movement of the face or one side of the body, or difficulty with walking and coordination.

Childhood Brain Tumors
Pediatric brain tumors affect nearly 1,500 to 2,000 children in the U.S. every year. They are diagnosed most often between the ages of three and eight, but can occur at any age.

Children with brain tumors are diagnosed and treated by our partner, Children's Memorial Hospital's Falk Brain Tumor Center. One of the first institutions in the country to develop a cohesive, multidisciplinary program for brain tumor treatment, Children's Memorial treats over 67 percent of children in the Chicago area who are newly diagnosed with this condition, and treat many additional patients with recurrent disease.