Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, commonly referred to as pontine glioma, infiltrative brainstem glioma, or DIPG, is a rare tumor of the brainstem that occurs in children. A pontine glioma occurs in a most delicate area of the brainstem (the "pons"), which controls many critical functions, including breathing and blood pressure. Its location, as well as the way it infiltrates normal brain tissue, makes it especially difficult to treat. There are about 300-350 new cases of DIPG diagnosed each year in the United States, usually in children under the age of 10. DIPG affect boys and girls equally.

DIPG is a kind of glioma, meaning that it originates from the glial (connective/supporting) cells of the brain. Gliomas of the brainstem, like DIPG, are uncommon in adults, but in children they are the leading cause of deaths from brain tumors. 

Pontine gliomas grow quickly, so symptoms can appear suddenly and progress rapidly (see Symptoms of DIPG). Radiation treatments can help alleviate those symptoms, but they are not curative. The prognosis for DIPG remains poor, but there are promising new research and clinical trials that hold the hope of improved outcomes for children diagnosed with DIPG (see Diagnosing and Treating DIPG). It is important to have your child evaluated as soon as possible by an expert in pediatric brain tumors, to ensure that the most advanced treatment options are available to you. (See Doctors Who Treat DIPG.)

Learn more about the clinical trial:

Find out more about our innovative
clinical trial for DIPG

What Causes DIPG?
Scientists do not yet know what causes DIPG, and the cancer is so rare that it hasn’t received nearly enough research funding to find a cause, a cure, or even better treatment options.  Survival rates have not improved much over the last few decades due to this lack of new research. Because of this, DIPG was chosen as one of the rare and inoperable pediatric brain tumors now being studied in Weill Cornell Medicine’s Children’s Brain Tumor Project.

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