Pediatric Neuro-Oncology in Low-/Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

Pediatric cancer is becoming increasingly important in low-/middle-income countries (LMICs), due to the improvement in controlling communicable diseases, decrease infant, and early childhood mortalities associated with infection and malnutrition.Worldwide, although much improvement was encountered in many pediatric tumors particularly acute leukemia that represents the commonest type of cancer in children, this was not so obvious in CNS tumors, the second most common tumor type. Slow advances have been achieved to improve treatment end results in pediatric neuro-oncology. This was largely related to disease under diagnosis, incorrect clinical assessment, improper staging, and lack of the availability of appropriate radiologic, neurosurgical, and radiotherapeutic services in LMICs. Moreover, the need for multidisciplinary team working together to embalmment unified approved management guidelines, highly specific care level within a widely accepted quality control measures are of utmost importance to raise the treatment outcome levels to that of high-income countries (HICs).Much effort is needed in LMICs to improve the management of pediatric CNS tumors, decrease the gap, and reach good results already attained by the dedicated centers in HICs. There are many international organizations and societies that can and are willing to help in this matter.In this chapter, an illustration of the obstacles faced by LMIC neuro-oncologists will be discussed. The different ways and procedures are recommended to improve the general situation to attain good results similar to that in HICs.