|NCI/PDQ® Patients: Childhood Visual Pathway and Hypothalamic
Glioma Treatment (PDQ®)| |National Cancer Institute| | Last
Modified: July 3, 2008 Childhood visual pathway glioma is a type
of brain tumor in which cancer (malignant) cells begin to grow
in the tissues of the brain. The brain controls memory and
learning, the senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch),
and emotion. It also controls other parts of the body, including
muscles, organs, and blood vessels. Other than leukemia or
lymphoma, brain tumors are the most common type of cancer that
occurs in children. Gliomas are a type of astrocytoma, tumors
that start in brain cells called astrocytes. A visual pathway
glioma occurs along the nerve that sends messages from the eye
to the brain (the optic nerve). Visual pathway gliomas are
visual pathway tumors. They may grow rapidly or slowly,
depending on the grade of the tumor. The risk of developing
visual pathway gliomas is increased in children with a genetic
disorder called neurofibromatosis type