A tumour is any abnormal group of cells. It is also called a growth or neoplasm.

Brain tumours are rare in children. Each year in Canada, they affect about 300 children under the age of 18. Most occur in children aged five to eight. They are the second most common type of cancer in children, after leukemia.

WHO IS AT RISK?

If there are certain medical conditions in your family, it means that family members carry some genes that are not normal. You have some of the same genes as your family members. Therefore, it is possible that you might carry some of these genes that are not normal.

Having certain medical conditions may result in a slightly higher chance that you or others in the family will develop a brain tumour. These medical conditions include:

• neurofibromatosis
• tuberous sclerosis
• von Hippel-Lindau disease
• Li-Fraumeni syndrome
• Gorlin syndrome
• Turcot syndrome
• Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome