Pediatrics Committee

Several developments of interest in pediatric neuro-oncology have taken place recently. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has released its first “Guidelines for Pediatric Central Nervous System Cancers,” and is currently finishing work on its Medulloblastoma guidelines. Two specifically pediatric CNS tumor consortia are currently running clinical trials in the United States (PNOC and Connect), as well as two broader pediatric oncology consortia (COG and SIOPE). Each has opened new pediatric neuro-oncology trials in the past year, including two studies involving Day-101. Finally, the NCI Cancer Moonshot Research Initiatives continue to include pediatric immunotherapy discovery and development, and research on the major drivers of childhood cancers with a focus on fusion oncoproteins.

The field of pediatric neuro-oncology continues to expand at a rapid pace even relative to neuro-oncology in general, and multi-disciplinary pediatric neuro-oncology teams are more and more comprised of neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and physiatrists with particular training in the care of children, in addition to expertise in clinical trials, translational development, pharmaceutical discovery and data science surrounding CNS tumors. The best possible care for pediatric neuro-oncology patients has always required collaborative networks of clinicians; more and more, that goal now also includes networks of scientists, researchers and experts in adult-type brain tumors, as well.