At present there is no curative treatment for diffuse glioma of the brain stem. Over the last 30 years different clinical trials have been carried out to assess different drug combinations, yielding no significant results in terms of increased survival of children presenting this type of tumour.

It is important to remember that surgery is not an option for these tumors, given that it is impossible to totally or partially remove them. Therefore, the treatment that is currently considered more or less standard for this type of tumour has not varied much over the course of the past few years.

It should be noted that, due to the very poor prognosis of these patients, certain hospitals even advise parents not to initiate any treatment for their child due to the belief that the child stands no chance of being cured.

Although it is true that at present there is no treatment to cure diffuse brain stem glioma, there have been advances in the improvement of the quality of life of these children and in the management of the symptoms caused by this tumour.


This information has been checked by the Department of Paediatric Oncology, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu.