Presentation Description: Paediatric low grade gliomas (LGG) account for the largest group of intracranial and spinal tumours in childhood. When resection is possible, cure can be achieved by surgery only. The management of unresectable LGG is still unsatisfactory. Traditionally radiation was the standard treatment for these tumours. However, over the last 2 decades, multiple protocols of chemotherapy have been tested, and they have all demonstrated that chemotherapy can induce tumour shrinkage. Unfortunately, in the long term, only 30-40% of treated patients show sustained tumour control. This means that a majority of LGG patients will require more than one treatment.

This presentation provides an overview of the current knowledge, recent advances and future direction in the management of paediatric LGG.

Speaker:

Eric Bouffet, MD, FRCP(C)
Director, Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program
The Hospital for Sick Children
Professor of Pediatrics
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON