Focusing On Patients

Beating a brain tumor
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In children, brain tumors and central nervous system tumors are very similar and fall under one category. In the United States, approximately 2,200 children under age 20 are diagnosed annually with central nervous system tumors. "In northern and central California, there are maybe 25 cases a year," said Jonathan Ducore, chief of the section of pediatric hematology/oncology at UC Davis Medical Center.

Brain tumors pose special challenges when found in children.

"Children get different types of tumors than adults, and their brains are much more sensitive to radiation," said Ducore, who leads the comprehensive pediatric brain tumor clinic at UC Davis Medical Center. "Because they're still growing, children with brain tumors must be evaluated carefully to loss of function with treatment."

A multidisciplinary team of specialists that includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, radiation therapists, neuro-oncologists, neuro-endocrinologists, psychiatrists, social workers and nurses sees brain tumor patients at the medical center.

For Franklyn's surgery, the team was joined by Samuel Ciricillo, a Sacramento pediatric neurosurgeon and colleague of Zusman's who had special expertise in Franklyn's type of tumor.

This approach "gets everyone on the same page and leads to innovations in treatment," said James Boggan, vice chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and co-leader of the adult brain tumor program at UC Davis Medical Center.

Franklyn's parents considered several options for treatment. Doctors could wait to see if the mass would change or grow - "to let the situation declare itself," as Zusman put it. They could perform a biopsy to get more information about the tumor. Or they could do surgery to remove the mass and stop the seizures..

They opted for the latter.