Pediatric Brain Tumor Signs & Symptoms

A brain tumor is a problem that is often encountered in childhood and the statistics of this disease are growing disappointingly. The reasons for the growth are known to everyone: deterioration in the quality of products, the environmental situation, viruses, radiation and so on. The development of the disease in children often occurs due to abnormal growth of embryonic cells, that is, cells of the fetus’s brain when it was still in the womb.

In the department of pediatric hemato-oncology of the Israeli clinic Tel Aviv Medical Clinic, special attention is paid to the effective and minimal traumatic treatment of tumors of the central nervous system and brain tumors in children. Where possible, the most minimally invasive endoscopic treatments are used, and all types of operations are carried out at the highest level. Pediatric tumors of the central nervous system and the brain differ in morphological signs, symptoms and the nature of the course from tumor diseases in adults, therefore, pediatric neurosurgeons specializing in the treatment of childhood CNS diseases are engaged in the treatment of children in our center.

Symptoms of disease

Brain tumors are divided into benign and malignant, as well as intracerebral, when tumors develop from brain cells and extracerebral – arising from abnormal cell division of brain membranes, vessels, nerves, etc. Removing intracerebral tumors presents a more difficult task for the surgeon, since there are no clear boundaries between healthy brain tissues and the tumor. Such tumors, as they grow, destroy surrounding tissues and structures. Experts identify the following signs of the presence of pathology in children: 

• constant or repeated vomiting;
• persistent or recurring headaches;
• problems with coordination or walking;
• blurred vision, the image doubles in the eyes;
• unnatural eye movements;
• abnormal head position;
• seizures or seizures;
• behavioural changes, especially fatigue;
• increased head circumference in infants;
• delayed puberty in adolescents.

Also, the parents of the baby need to pay attention to sudden changes in the child’s mood, situations when the child becomes irritable for no reason and loses control over actions, or situations when the child was previously very active becomes drowsy and lethargic. In all these cases, parents should seek advice from a specialist.