Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT)

Care at Mayo Clinic

As part of Mayo Clinic Children's Center, pediatric specialists in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Clinic work together as a multispecialty team to deliver the most effective personalized treatment plan for your child.

Typically, a pediatric neuro-oncologist specializing in brain tumors will be your child's primary doctor. This doctor may coordinate access to other specialists from the pediatric brain tumor treatment team.

Your team may include specialists in:

• Child psychology.
• Neuropathology.
• Pediatric endocrinology.
• Pediatric neurology.
• Pediatric neurosurgery.
• Pediatric oncology.
• Pediatric radiation oncology.
• Pediatric rehabilitation.
• Radiology.

Mayo Clinic brain surgeons (neurosurgeons) have experience caring for many children with brain tumors. They use the latest technology and techniques to maximize the amount of tumor tissue removed and minimize any effects on nearby healthy tissue.

• Advanced imaging. Pediatric neurosurgeons use the latest imaging techniques to plan surgery. Advanced imaging tests include magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and slip interface imaging. These can help define the edges of the tumor and show how attached it is to healthy brain tissue. Careful planning helps make surgery more successful.
• Creating 3D models to plan safe surgery. At Mayo Clinic, pediatric neurosurgeons have access to state-of-the-art 3D printing. The printers use high-resolution imaging to create 3D models of complex brain tumors. The models help surgeons plan operations to maximize safety. Surgeons also might use the models to help patients and families better understand the anatomy of the brain tumor.
• Using the latest brain surgery techniques. Mayo Clinic's expertise in computer-assisted brain surgery allows pediatric neurosurgeons to precisely locate tumors and remove them using the safest and least invasive route possible. Techniques such as brain-mapping, intraoperative MRI and awake brain surgery help surgeons operate without injuring critical areas of the brain.

Mayo Clinic researchers uncovered how ATRT cells survive when the SMARCB1 gene is lost. Their work revealed weak points in these pathways that respond to medicines in early laboratory testing, pointing to possible new treatment approaches.

Mayo Clinic is one of a limited number of healthcare facilities in the United States that offers a Proton Beam Therapy Program for children with certain types of brain tumors. Proton therapy is a type of radiation that uses energy from protons. Traditional radiation therapy uses energy from X-rays, also called photons.

Traditional radiation therapy with X-rays delivers radiation to nearly everything in its path. That means tissue in front of the tumor and behind the tumor gets some radiation. Most adult bodies can absorb the radiation and heal from this damage. But children's bodies are still growing and developing and they may be more sensitive to this extra radiation.

Proton therapy allows doctors to carefully plan and deliver the treatment so that there is minimal harm to surrounding tissue. This may help reduce the risk of long-term side effects and complications.

Highly skilled pediatric specialists in Mayo Clinic's Pediatric Brain Tumor Clinic work together as a multispecialty team to deliver the most effective personalized treatment plan for your child.

Typically, a pediatric neuro-oncologist specializing in brain tumors coordinates the pediatric brain tumor treatment team. The team may include experts from pediatric neurology, pediatric neurosurgery, radiology, pediatric endocrinology, neuropathology, pediatric radiation oncology, pediatric oncology, child psychology and pediatric rehabilitation.