A recently-published study has found that a significant proportion of children under the age of three with the brain tumor ependymoma can skip or delay radiotherapy by using chemotherapy without lowering their chances of survival.This research has taken 12 years to complete and were released in Lancet Oncology in July 2007 by the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group at The University of Nottingham in the UK
Radiotherapy can be harmful to a young child's brain, affecting IQ, short term memory, growth and puberty.
According to experts, the survival rate for children with ependymoma is increasing, but still unacceptably low.
