What are the different types of brain tumours in children?

There are over 100 different types of tumour that can develop in the brain or central nervous system.

Brain tumours can start in any part of the brain or spinal cord (primary brain tumours). Or cancer can spread to the brain or spinal cord from somewhere else in the body. This is known as a secondary brain tumour or brain metastases. Secondary brain tumours are much less common in children than adults.

The names of the different types of brain tumours are based on:

• the type of cell they develop from

• the area of the brain they are growing in

• the genetic changes found in the tumour. A doctor might call these gene changes a biomarker or molecular marker

• whether it mostly develops in children or adults

Embryonal tumours

These types of tumours develop from cells left over from early development in the womb. All embryonal tumours are grade 4. This means they are high grade (malignant).

There are several different types of embryonal tumours. Each type can be further divided into subtypes. This is based on their genetic and molecular information. Some of the main types include:

• medulloblastoma

• embryonal tumours with multi layered rosettes (ETMR)

• atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour (ATRT)

• pineoblastoma

Here is an overview of some of them:

Medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is the most common cancerous (malignant) brain tumour in children. Adults can also get this type of tumour, but it is rare. These types of brain tumours are high grade because:

• the tumour often grows quickly

• they can spread to other areas of the brain and spinal cord

Medulloblastomas develop at the back of the brain in the cerebellum.

Doctors used to talk about medulloblastoma as a primitive neuro ectodermal tumour (PNET). This term is no longer used.

Find out more detailed information about medulloblastoma in children

Embryonal tumours with multi layered rosettes (ETMR)

Embryonal tumours with multi layered rosettes are a group of rare embryonal tumours. They’re grouped together because of what they look like under the microscope. These types of tumours can develop in different parts of the brain.

ETMR tumours are high grade and usually affect children up to the age of 3 years old.

The main treatments for ETMRs are:

• chemotherapy

• surgery

• radiotherapy

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour (ATRT)

These tumours are another type of rare embryonal tumour. The majority of these occur in children under 3 years of age. Very rarely they can occur in adults.

These tumours tend to be fast growing (high grade). They can develop in different parts of the brain.

The main treatments for ATRT include:

• surgery

• chemotherapy

• high dose chemotherapy followed by an ​autologous stem cell transplant​

• radiotherapy

Pineoblastoma

Pineoblastoma is a rare type of embryonal tumour. It mainly affects children in the first 2 years of life, but can happen at any age. These are high grade tumours that start in the ​pineal gland​ . The pineal gland is in the centre of the brain.

The pineal gland’s main known job is to control your sleep pattern. So it makes the hormone serotonin in the day and then changes it into the hormone melatonin at night.

Doctors treat these tumours with a combination of:

• surgery

• chemotherapy

• radiotherapy

What next?

We have detailed information about:

• astrocytoma

• medulloblastoma

• ependymoma

If your child has been diagnosed with another type of brain tumour you might find our general information on tests, treatment and support helpful.

Choose the information from our main page