Brain tumors occur often in kids with common genetic syndrome

Author: Tamara Bhandari

Published On: 08/08/2018

The frequency of brain tumors has been underestimated in children with the common genetic syndrome neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), according to a new study. This disorder is characterized by birthmarks on the skin and benign nerve tumors that develop in or on the skin. Brain tumors also are known to occur in children and adults with NF1.

Neurologists have estimated that only 15 to 20 percent of kids with NF1 develop brain tumors. Of these brain tumors, the vast majority are located within the optic nerve or the brainstem. However, a recent study of brain scans performed on children with NF1 at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that the frequency of brain tumors in this population was more than three times higher. These previously under-recognized brain tumors can cause neurologic problems that require treatment.

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