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8 slides generated from the cancer page, with a quiz from the open benchmark and speaker notes that cite the sources. Arrow keys move between slides; Print gives one slide per page.
Brain and spinal cord tumours range from slow-growing meningiomas and low-grade gliomas to glioblastoma, the commonest malignant brain tumour in adults, and a distinct set of childhood tumours such as medulloblastoma and diffuse midline glioma. Molecular markers now define them, and treatment is surgery, radiotherapy and, for some, drugs chosen by those markers.
Tumours of the brain and spinal cord are classified by the WHO by cell type and, since 2016 and more so in 2021, by molecular markers such as IDH mutation, 1p/19q codeletion, H3 K27 alteration and MGMT methylation. In adults the main groups are gliomas (from IDH-mutant low-grade astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas to IDH-wildtype glioblastoma), meningiomas, pituitary tumours and primary CNS lymphoma; in children, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, low-grade gliomas, diffuse midline glioma and rare embryonal tumours dominate. Surgery as complete as function allows, radiotherapy and temozolomide remain the backbone; targeted drugs such as vorasidenib for IDH-mutant glioma and BRAF and MEK inhibitors for BRAF-altered paediatric glioma are the first molecular therapies to change practice. The blood-brain barrier and the impossibility of wide margins make these among the hardest cancers to treat, which is why the subtype pages give the detail.
| Setting | Approach | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Glioblastoma | Maximal safe resection, radiotherapy with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide (Stupp regimen), tumour-treating fields as an option. See the glioblastoma page. | not mapped |
| IDH-mutant low-grade glioma | Surgery, then observation or vorasidenib for grade 2 tumours, radiotherapy and chemotherapy for higher risk. | not mapped |
| Childhood tumours | Risk-adapted surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy by subgroup; BRAF and MEK inhibitors for BRAF-altered low-grade glioma. See the medulloblastoma, ependymoma and DIPG pages. | not mapped |