====== Pilocytic astrocytoma epidemiology ====== The most common [[glioma]] in [[pediatric]]s (age 0–19 years) with an [[incidence]] of 0.82/100,000 ((Ostrom QT, Gittleman H, Liao P, et al. CBTRUS statistical report: primary brain and central nervous system tumors diagnosed in the United States in 2007- 2011. Neuro Oncol. 2014; 16 Suppl 4:iv1–i63)). ---- Pilocytic astrocytoma, a [[WHO Grade I]] tumor, is the most common [[pediatric brain tumor]] between 5 and 14 years of age and the second most common in children younger than 5 and older than 14. Although classical to the cerebellum and hypothalamic regions, it can also arise in the spinal cord ((Offenbacher R, Kobets A, Dalvi N, Hsu K, Chin S, Snuderl M, Levy A, Martin A. A nine-month-old boy with regression of milestones and severe constipation: an unusual case of a large spinal NTRK1 fusion pilocytic astrocytoma. Childs Nerv Syst. 2022 Sep 15. doi: 10.1007/s00381-022-05662-w. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36107222.)). ---- [[Pilocytic astrocytoma]] is considered the most common subtype of [[pediatric intracranial tumor]]. Through [[bioinformatics]] analysis, Wang et al. suggested that NCKAP1L, GPR37L1, CSPG4, PPFIA4, and C8orf46 are potential biomarkers for the [[pilocytic astrocytoma diagnosis]] ((Wang G, Jia Y, Ye Y, Kang E, Chen H, Wang J, He X. Clinical and Epidemiological Study of [[Intracranial Tumor]]s in Children and Identification of Diagnostic Biomarkers for the Most Common Tumor Subtype and Their Relationship with the Immune Microenvironment Through [[Bioinformatics]] Analysis. J Mol Neurosci. 2022 Mar 28. doi: 10.1007/s12031-022-02003-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35347632.)). ---- The incidence progressively declines after age 15. Slight [[male]] predilection. Usually presents during second decade of life (ages 10–20).2 75% occur in age < 20 years ((Wallner KE, Gonzales MF, Edwards MSB, et al. Treatment of juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma. J Neurosurg. 1988; 69:171–176)). ---- Its most common location is the cerebellum and it develops during the first two decades of life., and is one of the commonest subtypes of [[glioma]] to affect children. They are rarely diagnosed in patients over the age of 18 years. In adults, these tumours appear more frequently [[supratentorial]]ly than in the [[cerebellum]] and some reports suggest a different clinical course in adults.