Staging is the use of exams and imaging tests to determine how widespread a cancer is. For most cancers, the stage (extent) of the cancer is one of the most important factors in selecting treatment options and in determining the outlook for chances of cure (prognosis).

Because most central nervous system tumors do not usually spread, they are not formally staged. Some of the most important factors that determine your child's prognosis include:

• the type of tumor (such as astrocytoma, ependymoma, etc.)
• the grade of the tumor (how quickly the tumor is likely to grow, based on how the cells look under a microscope)
• the location of the tumor
• how much of the tumor can be removed by surgery (if it can be done)
• your child's age
• your child's functional level (related to side effects caused by the tumor)
• whether or not the tumor has spread through the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to other parts of the brain and/or spinal cord
• whether or not tumor cells have spread beyond the central nervous system

Medulloblastoma risk groups

More formal staging systems have been proposed for some childhood brain tumors. For example, many clinical trials for treating medulloblastoma use a system that places children into either standard-risk or high-risk groups. Children are placed in the high-risk group if they are younger than 3, have a lot of tumor that can't be removed during surgery, and/or have cancer cells in the CSF or spread to other parts of the brain or elsewhere. Doctors are still refining this system to make it as accurate as possible.

Last Medical Review: 04/07/2008
Last Revised: 05/13/2009