Study Design and Patients Selection
This population study used SEER-18 Dataset comprised 18 cancer registries across the United States. Pediatric (<12 years) patients with histologically confirmed glioma diagnosed between 1998 and 2016 were included in this study. Patient data with incomplete clinical data of interest and therapy details, and poor follow up were excluded. Further, cases wherein the primary site of lesion was not brainstem were also excluded (Figure 1). Data were extracted using the SEER*Stat software (version 8.3.5) of the National Cancer Institute. Clinical characteristics retrieved in the study were prospective data on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and survival outcomes.