Childhood astrocytoma is a disease in which benign (noncancer) or malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the brain. Astrocytomas are tumors that start in star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes.An astrocyte is a type of glial cell.hildhood astrocytoma is a disease in which benign (noncancer) or malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the brain. Astrocytomas are tumors that start in star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes.
Medication. A few medications may sometimes cause peripheral neuropathy as a side effect in some people. These include: 1  some types of chemotherapy for cancer (especially for bowel cancer, lymphoma or myeloma). 2  some antibiotics, if taken for months (metronidazole, nitrofurantoin).
Exposure to toxins may damage nerves and cause peripheral neuropathy. 1  Medication toxicity can be caused by many agents in addition to those for fighting cancer. 2  Other agents that commonly cause peripheral neuropathy as a side effect include those used to fight infection such as antiretroviral agents for treating HIV.ften worse at night, neuropathic pain seriously disrupts sleep and adds to the emotional burden of sensory nerve damage. Neuropathic pain can often be associated with an oversensitization of pain receptors in the skin, so that people feel severe pain (allodynia) from stimuli that are normally painless.