Pineal Region Tumours
What is a pineal region tumour?
What is a pineal gland?
How common are pineal region tumours?
What types of brain tumour are classified as pineal region tumours?
Pineocytoma
Pineal parenchymal tumour with intermediate differentiation (PPTID)
Papillary tumour of the pineal region (PTPR)
Pineoblastoma
Treatment options for pineal region tumours
Frequently asked questions
How will we find a cure for pineal region tumours?
Research we are funding across all of our dedicated Research Centres will help lead towards finding a cure for a wide range of brain tumours.
Our team at the University of Plymouth Low-Grade Brain Tumour Research Centre are researching a number of molecular pathways that influence immune system function, tumour metabolism and tumour growth in a range of low-grade brain tumours in children and adults.
The team of research and clinical experts in our Research Centre at Imperial College, London, are studying the way in which the ketogenic diet works in brain cancer, which may have the potential to influence a wide range of brain tumours.
Pioneering research at our Brain Tumour Research Centre at Queen Mary University of London is focused on using GBM stem cells to help develop unique, patient-specific treatments. Their findings are expected to translate into other types of adult and paediatric brain tumours.
We also fund BRAIN UK at Southampton University, the country’s only national tissue bank registry providing crucial access to brain tumour samples for researchers from all clinical neuroscience centres in the UK, effectively covering about 90% of the UK population, and an essential component in the fight to find a cure for pineal region brain tumours.
What causes a pineal region tumour?
The precise cause of most pineal region tumours is not yet understood.
However, people living with an inherited genetic disorder called bilateral retinoblastoma are more likely to develop a pineal region tumour called pineoblastoma than people without this condition.
Read more about the causes of brain tumours here.
What are the symptoms of pineal region tumours?
Pineal region tumours originate from deep within the centre of the brain, close to the third ventricle (one of the large fluid filled spaces). This means that patients often experience increased pressure inside the skull due to a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a condition known as hydrocephalus.
Signs and symptoms of pineal region tumours may include:
- Headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Unusual eye movements or difficulty controlling the eyes: in particular, a characteristic upward gaze palsy, known as Parinaud syndrome
- Poor balance, for example whilst walking
- Poor co-ordination (ataxia)
- Disruption of sleep patterns
- Seizures
- Memory issues
- Early puberty in children
Read more about symptoms of a brain tumour here.
Are pineal region tumours benign or cancerous?
The degree of malignancy depends upon the grade of the tumour.
A grade 1 pineal tumour that is easily removed would be classed as benign.
A grade 2 or 3 pineal tumour tends to return after treatment and would be classified as a low-grade or slow-growing form of cancer.
A grade 4 pineal tumour would be classed as an aggressive or malignant form of fast-growing cancer.
The most aggressive forms of pineal region tumours tend to spread throughout the central nervous system (CNS), which consists of the brain and spine, but are highly unlikely to spread to other parts of the body.