The brain controls vital functions such as memory and learning, emotion, and the senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch). The spinal cord is made up of bundles of nerve fibers that connect the brain with nerves in most parts of the body.
Ependymomas form from ependymal cells that line the ventricles and passageways in the brain and the spinal cord. Ependymal cells make cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
This summary is about the treatment of primary brain tumors (tumors that begin in the brain). Treatment of metastatic brain tumors, which are tumors that begin in other parts of the body and spread to the brain, is not discussed in this summary.
There are many different types of brain tumors. Brain tumors can occur in both children and adults. However, treatment for children is different than treatment for adults. See the following PDQ summaries for more information:
- Childhood Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors Treatment Overview
- Adult Brain Tumors Treatment
There are different types of ependymomas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) groups ependymal tumors into four main subtypes:
- Subependymoma (WHO Grade I).
- Myxopapillary ependymoma (WHO Grade I).
- Ependymoma (WHO Grade II)
- Anaplastic ependymoma (WHO Grade III).
The grade of a tumor describes how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread. Low-grade (Grade I) cancer cells look more like normal cells and tend to grow and spread more slowly than high-grade (Grade III) cancer cells.
The part of the brain that is affected depends on where the ependymoma forms.
Ependymomas can form anywhere in the fluid -filled ventricles and passageways in the brain and spinal cord. Most ependymomas form in the fourth ventricle and affect the cerebellum and the brain stem.
Anatomy of the inside of the brain showing the lateral ventricle, third ventricle, fourth ventricle, and the passageways between the ventricles (with cerebrospinal fluid shown in blue). Other parts of the brain shown include the cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord, and brain stem (pons and medulla).