Signs and symptoms of pediatric central nervous system tumors based on tumor location

Tumor location	Presenting signs/symptoms
Cerebral cortex	Headache, seizures, hemiparesis, hyperreflexia, clonus, sensory loss, speech disturbances, memory deficits, personality changes
Posterior fossa	Nausea and vomiting, headache, abnormal gait and coordination, papilledema, abnormal eye movements
Brain stem	Cranial nerve deficits, gait and coordination disturbances, nystagmus, focal motor weakness, signs of increased intracranial pressure including headache and papilledema
Spinal cord	Radicular pain and/or weakness (symptoms correspond to level of lesion), loss of bowel/bladder control, gait abnormalities
Optic pathway	Visual disturbances, proptosis, nystagmus
Hypothalamus	Endocrine disturbances including diabetes insipidus and growth failure

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