Staging

Staging is a way of describing a tumor, such as where it is located, if or where it has spread, and if it is affecting the functions of other organs in the body. Doctors use diagnostic tests to determine the tumor's stage, so staging may not be complete until all of the tests are finished. Knowing the stage helps the doctor to decide what kind of treatment is best and can help predict a patient's prognosis (chance of recovery). There are different stage descriptions for different types of tumors.

There is no formal staging system for ependymoma, however, it can be classified based on the location of the tumor and if the cancer has spread.

Supratentorial: The tumor is above the membrane that covers the cerebellum, known as the tentorium cerebella.

Infratentorial: The tumor is growing below the tentorium cerebella.

Recurrent: A recurrent tumor is a tumor that comes back after treatment.

A tumor may also be described by its grade, which is used to describe how much the tumor appears like normal tissue when viewed with a microscope. In a tumor that resembles normal tissue, doctors can clearly see different types of cells grouped together (called well differentiated). In a higher-grade tumor, the cells usually look less like normal cells, or “wilder” (called poorly differentiated or undifferentiated). In general, a child with a more differentiated, lower-grade tumor has a better prognosis.