Intracranial tumors in first year of life: the CHEO experience

Abstract

Introduction: One seventh of pediatric brain tumors are diagnosed in the first year of life. With more widespread and accessible neuroimaging, these lesions are being diagnosed earlier, but there remains scant literature about their natural history.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of brain tumor patients presenting to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) through the last 34 years. Patients presenting in the first year of life, including symptoms, management features, and functional outcome, were analyzed using ANOVA and chi (2) statistics.

Results: Eighteen cases of brain tumors in the first year of life were identified: 12 suptratentorial, eight with benign histology, and six infratentorial all with malignant histology. Median age of presentation differed by lesion location (p = 0.05) and glial tumors were most common. Raised intracranial pressure was more than twice as prevalent with posterior fossa lesions (p < 0.01) with equivalent likelihood of increasing head circumference (p = 0.74), whereas seizures were more frequent with supratentorial tumors (p = 0.04). Gross total resection was achieved in 47% of patients, cerebrospinal fluid diversion was more frequently necessary among infratentorial lesions (p = 0.02), and adjuvant therapy was more utilized for infratentorial lesions (p < 0.01). Among eight surviving infants, seven had supratentorial tumors, five survived to adulthood, and six are functionally independent.

Conclusions: Brain tumors in the first year of life represent 4.8% of patients treated at CHEO. Mode of presentation, utilization of adjuvant therapy, and survival depend on tumor location and histology, with worse prognosis for infratentorial lesions. One third of patients had acceptable functional outcome requiring no special assistance.