1. Jacqulyn Barnes HBCU-UP Program Reading/Writing Segment Summer 2008

2. Conformal radiation therapy plays an essential role in cancer for many CNS tumors and is a promising method of treatment of cancer.

4. I. Childhood CNS Tumors affect the central nervous system in children. A. CNS tumors primarily start in the brain rather than spreading there from other parts of the body.

5. I. Childhood CNS Tumors the central nervous system in children B. Approximately half the brain tumors in children occur below the tentorium, most being in the cerebellum or fourth ventricle.

6. II. Conformal Radiation Therapy A. Conformal radiation therapy is a method of treatment delivery that incorporates rigid immobilization and 3D computer planning and treatment systems to produce a high dose area of radiation that conforms to the shape of the target tumor.

7. II. Conformal Radiation Therapy B. Some techniques of conformal radiation therapy used to shape the beam and miss normal tissues include: 1. Multi-field, static co-planar irradiation 2. Intensity modulated radiation therapy

8. III. There are positive and late side effects of conformal radiation therapy on childhood CNS tumors. A. Conformal radiation therapy has positive effects on childhood CNS tumors. 1. CNS tumors are reduced in size without much damage. 2. There has been reports of three year progression in patients and survival rate increases. 3. Hearing improves.

9. III. There are positive and late side effects of conformal radiation therapy on childhood CNS tumors. B. There are some late side effects of conformal radiation therapy on childhood CNS tumors. 1. Brain irradiation which is more significant from a single large dose of radiation than small daily doses.

10. Conformal radiation therapy is an advance in radiation oncology and although there are many more prospective trials that are needed to monitor late side effects, children now can have easier treatments and a greater rate of survival.

11. Dollinger, M. (1991). Childhood cancers: Brain Tumors. Everyone’s Guide to Cancer Therapy, 31, 294-296. Hendry, J., Jeremi, B., & Zubizarreta, H. (2006). Normal tissue complications after radiation therapy. WilsonWeb. Retrieved June 18, 2008, from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/results_single_fulltext/ http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/results_single_fulltext/ Kirsch, G., & Tarbell, N. (2004). Conformal radiation therapy for childhood CNS tumors. The Oncologist. Rerieved June 18, 2008, from http:// theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/content/full/9/4/442/ Merchant, T., Mulhern, R., Krasin, M., Kun, E., Williams, T., Li, C., et al. (2004, August 1). Preliminary results from a phase II trial of conformal radiation therapy and evaluation of radiation-related CNS effects of pediatric patients with localized ependymoma. Journal of Clinical Oncology. Retrieved June 20, 2008, from http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/full/22/15/3156/ http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/full/22/15/3156/ Childhood brain tumors. (n.d.). IRSA. Retrieved June 20, 2008, from http://www.irsa.org/childhood_tumors.html/ Childhood brain tumors. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Cancer, 59-60. Conformal radiation therapy. (n.d.) Conformal Radiation Therapy. Retrieved June 18, 2008, from http://web.ucsf.edu/jpouliot/Pages/ConeBeam/conformal_radiation_therapy.htm/ http://web.ucsf.edu/jpouliot/Pages/ConeBeam/conformal_radiation_therapy.htm/ Neuromuscular system. (2002). Halks Cancer Handbook, London: Nature Publishing Group.