CERN Foundation Supplement to NBTS Blog Post ‘What You Need to Know About the New Updates to Brain Tumor Classification and Grades’
— Categories: Posted on August 5, 2021
National Brain Tumor Society released a blog post titled ‘What You Need to Know About the New Updates to the Brain Tumor Classification and Grades’ to address the recent 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System update published in Neuro-Oncology. Below are highlights of some of the changes, their importance to the brain and spinal cord tumor community, and considerations for newly diagnosed patients and survivors.
In preparation for these updates and to stay at the forefront of ependymoma advancements, the CERN Foundation collaborated with key stakeholders to produce a C-IMPACT NOW Educational Event with Dr. David Ellison Chair of Pathology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Dr. Mark Gilbert Chief of the Neuro-Oncology Branch at the National Institutes of Health. In addition, a presentation by Dr. Kristian Pajtler, Head Molecular Oncology and Cancer Predisposition at Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ) covering the latest updates in the WHO classification was included in the 2021 Ependymoma Awareness Day video. These educational tools help to explain the updates to ependymoma classification and cast a light on the future direction of research and clinical practice.
Specifically, the latest update to the ependymoma classification includes the following updates:
- Specific tumor location will now be included in the classification of ependymomas: Supratentorial (ST), Infratentorial / Posterior Fossa (PF), or Spine (SP)
- A new classification has been added for of a rare but aggressive spinal tumor: SP-MYCN ependymoma
- Updated name: Tumors previously known as ST-RELA ependymoma are now called ST-ZFTA ependymoma
- Ependymomas that can be molecularly defined include: ST-ZFTA, ST-YAP1, PFA, PFB, and SP-MYCN tumors
What You Need to Know About the New Updates to Brain Tumor Classification and Grades.