Central Nervous System
Seizure Disorder
Brain tumors:
Seizures are relatively common at presentation for children with hemispheric brain tumors.
In the long term seizures in pediatric brain tumor survivors may be related to foci of scarring related to:
- Therapy
- Previous radiotherapy or surgery and subsequent scarring
- Residual low grade tumor (such as astrocytoma)
A recent study looking at rates of hospitalization for survivors of pediatric brain tumors as compared with a matched control population in British Columbia (using database linkage methodology) has shown a significantly increased risk of hospitalization rates for seizures in pediatric brain tumor survivors.
Acute Leukemia:
- Seizures occur acutely in 4 - 13% of children with leukemia
- Related to factors such as:
- IC hemorrhage
- Thrombocytopenia
- Thrombosis (associated with L-asparaginase)
- Rapid cell lysis
- Infection
- Fever
- IT Methotrexate (increased risk with meningeal ALL involvement)
- IC hemorrhage
Seizures in long term survivors of leukemia are rare.
