颅内室管膜瘤的术后放疗——附24例分析

颅内室管膜瘤以手术治疗为主,术后放疗可以提高生存率。本文就我科1976～1988年收治的24例术后放疗的颅内室管膜瘤做一总结。病理为室管膜瘤和室管膜母细胞瘤各12倒。 放疗情况:5例仅行病灶区域照射,11例行全脑照射,8例全脑照射后行全脊髓预防性照射。剂量为病灶局部50～55Gy/6wk,全脑30～50Gy/4～6wk,全脊髓20～25Gy/3～4wk。照射按每周5次割。所有病例     

儿童颅内高分级室管膜瘤的术后全中枢神经系统放疗（附7例报告）

目的：探讨儿童颅内高分级室管膜瘤的术后放射治疗。方法：1991年1月至1998年2月,收治的7例儿童颅内高分级室管膜瘤行术后全中枢神经系统放疗,观察其疗效及毒副反应,并结合献资料进行讨论。结果：本组1、3和5年生存率分别为100％、71．4％和47．6％,死亡3例,其中2例死于局部复发,占死亡患儿的66．7％（2／3）,1例死于局部残留病灶进展。本组未观察到放射脊髓病。结论：对儿童高分级室管膜瘤的术后放射治疗,宜选用全中枢神经系统放疗技术。局部复发或局部残留病灶进展是治疗失败的主要原因。     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

74例颅内生殖细胞瘤放疗疗效分析

目的 分析颅内生殖细胞瘤的放疗疗效.方法 搜集2007年11月前接近18年内收治的颅内生殖细胞瘤病例74例,其中男35例,女39例,中位年龄15(5～45)岁.放疗前病理诊断9例,余65例20 Gy放疗后MRI显示病灶均明显缩小(>50%)或消失为临床诊断.应用6 MV X线全脑全脊髓放疗加局部补量照射、全脑放疗加局部补量照射、全脑室放疗加局部补量或肿瘤区局部照射,原发病灶区38.5～50.0 Gy,全脑或全脑室18～25 Gy,全脊髓21～25 Gy,分割剂量1.6～2.0Gy/次,5次/周.结果 中位随访时间80(12～168)个月,总随访率为97%,10年随访例数和随访率分别为14例和19%.1、5、10年总生存率和无复发生存率分别为99%和97%、96%和90%、93%和83%.共9例患者治疗失败,6例为照射野内复发,3例为照射野外转移.照射野内复发者中肿瘤剂量<40 Gy者3例.38例患者放疗后有不同程度的垂体前叶功能低下,部分需强的松等激素替代治疗.结论 放疗是颅内生殖细胞瘤的主要治疗手段,其照射剂量、范围要根据病灶数目、脑脊液检查等结果 来决定.     

Treatment of spinal cord ependymomas by surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of complete resection and postoperative radiotherapy in spinal cord ependymomas. Methods and materials: We conducted a retrospective study over 20 patients (13 males and 7 females) with histologically confirmed spinal cord ependymomas between July 1985 and April 2001. Among them, 13 patients had ependymomas, 6 had myxopapillary ependymomas, and 1 had anaplastic ependymoma. All patients received radical surgery for tumor removal with 13 patients achieving complete resection and 7 incomplete resection due to technical difficulty. Among those with incomplete resection, 6 patients received postoperative radiotherapy to tumor bed and only one patient with anaplastic ependymoma received surgery alone. The total tumor dose ranged from 50 to 60 Gy. Results: Among the 20 patients, 19 patients were alive and showed local control. The median survival time of all patients was 109 months, with 104 months in the complete resection alone group and 135 months in the incomplete resection with postoperative radiotherapy group. One patient with anaplastic ependymoma and no postoperative radiotherapy developed leptomeningeal seeding 9 months after surgery. Salvage therapy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy maintained normal neurological functions. The patient expired 34 months from the initial diagnosis due to progression of leptomeningeal seeding. Conclusion: Complete resection alone in spinal cord ependymoma can achieve excellent local control and survival. Patients should receive complete resection if technically possible. Postoperative radiotherapy is not recommended for complete resection. For incomplete resection, postoperative local radiotherapy is recommended and it can also achieve excellent local control and survival. Local radiotherapy with 50-60 Gy is effective and safe. Salvage radiotherapy improves quality of life for local recurrence or leptomeningeal seeding patients.     

Spinal cord ependymomas in adults: analysis of 15 cases

This retrospective analysis was performed to examine the outcome of patients with spinal cord ependymomas treated with surgery and postoperative radiation therapy between 1982 and 1998. There were 10 male and 5 female patients, ranging from 16 to 74 years of age with a median age of 38 years. Surgery was gross total resection in 2 patients, subtotal resection in 10, biopsy in 3. All patients received radiation therapy with a total dose of 40-56 Gy. The 5 and 10 year overall survival rates were 83.3 and 83.3%, respectively. Twelve patients are still alive at a median follow-up period of 70 months. Of the 15 patients, 6 developed recurrent disease on follow-up. The median time to recurrence was 45 months (range: 24-80 months). Local failure within the initial irradiated volume occurred in 3 out of 6 patients who received less than 45 Gy and 2 out of 8 patients treated with more than 45 Gy. Four out of the six failures were salvaged with additional treatment. Re-irradiation was used as a part of salvage or sole treatment in 3 cases. The patient who was salvaged with radiation therapy only died of disease progression 41 months following recurrence and the other two who received a combination of surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy were still alive 57 and 30 months following relapse. The present study shows that surgery and post-operative radiation treatment for spinal ependymoma patients resulted in high survival rates. Patients with residual disease after surgery should be treated with radiation therapy with a dose of more than 45 Gy. Re-irradiation may be the treatment of choice for recurrent patients having less than complete resection or no surgery.     

Phase II study of 6-thioguanine, procarbazine, dibromodulcitol, lomustine, and vincristine chemotherapy with radiotherapy for treating malignant glioma in children

We conducted a single-arm phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy combined with 6-thioguanine, procarbazine, dibromodulcitol, lomustine, and vincristine (TPDCV) chemotherapy for treating malignant astrocytoma in children and anaplastic ependymoma in patients of all ages. Between 1984 and 1992, 42 patients who had malignant astrocytomas (glioblastomas multiforme, anaplastic astrocytomas, or mixed anaplastic oligoastrocytomas) were treated with TPDCV chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Of these patients, 40 were younger than 18 years, but 2 were older (22 and 23 years) when treated. Cranial radiation averaged 58 Gy. TPDCV chemotherapy was given for 1 year or until progression. Between 1989 and 1991, 17 patients with malignant ependymoma were treated with TPDCV chemotherapy and craniospinal radiation. Radiation was given at an average dose of 54 Gy to the tumor, 28 Gy to the whole brain, and 31 Gy to the spinal axis. TPDCV chemotherapy was given for 1 year or until tumor progressed. Of the patients with glioblastoma multiforme, 13 of 17 died; the median time to progression was 49 weeks, and median survival was 85 weeks. The four patients surviving at this writing were followed a median 537 weeks (range 364-635 weeks). Of the patients with nonglioblastoma malignant astrocytoma, 14 of 25 died; the median time to progression was 224 weeks. Median survival was not reached in this group. The median follow-up for those surviving was 494 weeks. For the patients with ependymoma, 11 of 17 died with a median time to progression of 141 weeks. The median follow-up for the eight who survive was 469 weeks. Nine patients died with a median survival of 183 weeks. The combination of TPDCV and radiotherapy has activity against childhood anaplastic astrocytoma, glioblastoma multiforme, and anaplastic ependymoma. The results of this study for children with glioblastoma were comparable to results in the literature, while the results for children with anaplastic astrocytoma appeared better than most reports. The combination of TPDCV chemotherapy and radiation therapy for anaplastic ependymomas appears to be active and at least as good as published reports using radiation therapy alone.     

Stereotactic radiosurgery for patients with recurrent intracranial ependymomas

The objective of the study is to define the tumor control rate and complications associated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for patients with recurrent intracranial ependymoma. Retrospective review of 26 patients (49 tumors) having SRS between 1990 and 2008. Twenty-five patients (96 %) had undergone one or more craniotomies; one patient underwent SRS for a metastatic tumor after resection of a spinal ependymoma. Nineteen patients (73 %) had received cranial external beam radiotherapy (median dose, 54 Gy). Eight patients (31 %) were less than 18 years old. The median target volume was 2.2 cm(3) (range, 0.3-66.6); the median tumor margin dose was 18 Gy (range, 12-24). The median follow-up after SRS was 3.1 years (range, 3 months-13.1 years). The median overall survival after SRS was 5.5 years. The 1-year and 3-year survival rates were 96 and 69 %, respectively. Local tumor control (LC) was achieved in 33 of 49 lesions (67 %) with a median time to progression of 14.7 months (range, 2.9 months-11.2 years). The 1-year and 3-year progression-free survival rates were 80 and 66 %, respectively. The 1-year and 3-year LC rate was 85 and 72 %, respectively. On univariate analysis, higher tumor grade was associated with worse OS (grade 3-4, 27 % vs grade 2, 82 %, p = 0.04). Seven patients (27 %) had distant tumor progression and two patients (8 %) had symptomatic radiation necrosis after SRS. SRS for recurrent intracranial ependymoma provided good LC and may improve survival for patients with limited recurrent disease after prior treatment.     

Stage III thymoma: pattern of failure after surgery and postoperative radiotherapy and its implication for future study

PURPOSE: With the conventional approach of surgery and postoperative radiotherapy for patients with Masaoka Stage III thymoma, progress has been slow for an improvement in the long-term survival rate over the past 20 years. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pattern of failure and survival after surgery and postoperative radiotherapy in Stage III thymoma and search for a new direction for better therapy outcome. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between 1975 and 1993, 111 patients with thymoma were treated at Massachusetts General Hospital. Of these, 32 patients were determined to have Masaoka Stage III thymoma. The initial treatment included surgery for clinically resectable disease in 25 patients and preoperative therapy for unresectable disease in 7 patients. Surgical procedure consisted of thymectomy plus resection of involved tissues. For postoperative radiotherapy (n = 23), radiation dose consisted of 45-50 Gy for close resection margins, 54 Gy for microscopically positive resection margins, and 60 Gy for grossly positive margins administered in 1.8 to 2.0 Gy of daily dose fractions, 5 fractions a week, over a period of 5 to 6.6 weeks. In preoperative radiotherapy, a dose of 40 Gy was administered in 2.0 Gy of daily dose fractions, 5 days a week. For patients with large tumor requiring more than 30% of total lung volume included in the target volume (n = 3), a preoperative radiation dose of 30 Gy was administered and an additional dose of 24-30 Gy was given to the tumor bed region after surgery for positive resection margins. RESULTS: Patients with Stage III thymoma accounted for 29% (32/111 patients) of all patients. The median age was 57 years with a range from 27 to 81 years; gender ratio was 10:22 for male to female. The median follow-up time was 6 years. Histologic subtypes included well-differentiated thymic carcinoma in 19 (59%), high-grade carcinoma in 6 (19%), organoid thymoma in 4 (13%), and cortical thymoma in 3 (9%) according to the Marino and Müller-Hermelink classification. The overall survival rates were 71% and 54% at 5 and 10 years, respectively. Ten of the 25 patients who were subjected to surgery as initial treatment were found to have incomplete resection by histopathologic evaluation. The 5- and 10-year survival rates were 86% and 69% for patients (n = 15) with clear resection margins as compared with 28% and 14% for those (n = 10) with incomplete resection margins even after postoperative therapy, p = 0.002. Survival rates at 5 and 10 years were 100% and 67% for those with unresectable disease treated with preoperative radiation (n = 6) and subsequent surgery (n = 3). Recurrence was noted in 12 of 32 patients and 11 of these died of recurrent thymoma. Recurrences at pleura and tumor bed accounted for 77% of all relapses, and all pleural recurrences were observed among the patients who were treated with surgery initially. CONCLUSION: Incomplete resection leads to poor results even with postoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy in Stage III thymoma. Pleural recurrence is also observed more often among patients treated with surgery first. These findings suggest that preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy may result in an increase in survival by improving the rate of complete resection and reducing local and pleural recurrences.     

Intracranial ependymomas treated with radiotherapy: long-term results from a single institution

The purpose of the study is to report long-term outcomes following surgery and radiotherapy for intracranial ependymoma. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients treated with radiotherapy for localized intracranial ependymomas from 1964 to 2006. Patients with subependymomas and ependymoblastomas, and those undergoing re-irradiation, were excluded. Our study population is 44 patients: 37 infratentorial lesions, 7 supratentorial. All patients had postoperative radiotherapy; most received sub-total resection and one-third received gross total resection. Most patients received local radiotherapy alone (median tumor dose 55 Gy); one-quarter received craniospinal irradiation (median dose 35 Gy). The 5- and 10-year local-control rates for all patients were 60 and 46%, respectively; 23% of local recurrences occurred after 5 years. Ninety-five percent of the patients recurred at the primary site; 5% had spinal seeding with no evidence of disease at the primary site. No patient who received craniospinal irradiation recurred in the spine. The 5- and 10-year disease-free survival and overall-survival rates for all patients were 60 and 42% and 57 and 43%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, age ≥18 years, gross total resection and infratentorial site were associated with improved local control. No patient with continuous local control had grade 4 or 5 toxicities; 27% of patients had grade 2 or 3 toxicities. One patient developed a radiation-induced meningioma >20 years after radiotherapy. Maximal safe resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy provided local control in one-half of patients at 10 years. Age, extent of surgery, and location were identified as major independent prognostic factors in patients with intracranial ependymomas.     

脑胶质瘤术后放射治疗疗效及预后75例分析

背景与目的:手术难以真正彻底切除脑胶质瘤,术后放射治疗已成为常规。本文回顾性分析胶质瘤患者术后放射治疗的疗效,探讨影响放射治疗胶质瘤预后的因素。方法:对资料完整的75例胶质瘤患者进行回顾性分析。其中低分级胶质瘤28例,高分级胶质瘤40例,未明确分级的7例。手术全切65例,次全切5例,单纯活检5例。术后接受放射治疗的中位时间为35天,其中16例采用60Coγ射线,59例采用直线加速器光子线和电子线混合线束。Kaplan-Meier法计算生存率,Cox比例风险模型进行预后的多因素分析。结果:低分级胶质瘤的1、3、5年生存率分别为92.0%、66.9%、61.7%;高分级胶质瘤的1、3、5年生存率分别为76.9%、38.0%、22.4%。年龄<40岁、低分级胶质瘤、手术全切肿瘤、放疗剂量≥60Gy的患者预后较好。结论:年龄、病理分级、手术切除程度、放疗剂量是影响放射治疗胶质瘤预后的重要因素。     

Ependymoma in Adults: Surgery,Reoperation and Radiotherapy for Survival

Purpose: to retrospectively determine the long-term outcome of adult intracranial ependymoma patients treated with surgery, reoperation, and postoperative radiation therapy. Material and Methods: 61 patients were treated at our institution between 1980 and 2004. Forty patients had World Health Organization (WHO) Grade II ependymoma, and 21 patients had Grade III ependymoma. The median age was 34 years. The majority of patients were female (59%), and 35 had gross total resections (60%). Eighteen patients were reoperated, 15 only once but 2 twice and one six times. Survival times following reoperation was mostly short but some of them reached more than 5 or 10 years. Postoperative radiation therapy was delivered to 31 patients postoperative (55.4%) and to 5 after reoperation, a median total dose of 54 Gy. Results: The median follow-up of surviving patients was 10.6 years. The 5-year and 10-year diseasefree survival rates for all patients were 50% and 32.9% respectively. The 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates for all patients were 57.1% and 39.4%, respectively. A statistically significant effect on prognosis was observed with WHO tumour grade as well as with MIB-1 labelling index. Subtotal resection predicted a worse overall survival, but this failed to reach statistical significance. No statistically significant effect on prognosis was observed with tumour location and radiation therapy. Conclusion: In our experience the use of radiotherapy in adult, intracranial WHO Grade II ependymoma patients had no significant effect on prognosis. Radical surgery and eventual reoperation seems to be more favorable.     

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy in childhood ependymoma

PURPOSE: To determine the patterns of failure after intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for localized intracranial ependymoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From 1994 to 2005, 22 children with pathologically proven, localized, intracranial ependymoma were treated with adjuvant IMRT. Of the patients, 12 (55%) had an infratentorial tumor and 14 (64%) had anaplastic histology. Five patients had a subtotal resection (STR), as evidenced by postoperative magnetic resonance imaging. The clinical target volume encompassed the tumor bed and any residual disease plus margin (median dose 54 Gy). Median follow-up for surviving patients was 39.8 months. RESULTS: The 3-year overall survival rate was 87% +/- 9%. The 3-year local control rate was 68% +/- 12%. There were six local recurrences, all in the high-dose region of the treatment field. Median time to recurrence was 21.7 months. Of the 5 STR patients, 4 experienced recurrence and 3 died. Patients with a gross total resection had significantly better local control (p = 0.024) and overall survival (p = 0.008) than those with an STR. At last follow-up, no patient had developed visual loss, brain necrosis, myelitis, or a second malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with IMRT provides local control and survival rates comparable with those in historic publications using larger treatment volumes. All failures were within the high-dose region, suggesting that IMRT does not diminish local control. The degree of surgical resection was shown to be significant for local control and survival.     

Postoperative radiotherapy results in primary spinal cord astrocytomas.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We retrospectively evaluated the therapeutic outcomes of patients with primary spinal cord astrocytomas treated with conventional radiotherapy at our institute. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between May 1975 and December 1997, 26 patients with histologically proven spinal cord astrocytomas were treated with conventional radiotherapy, and twenty-four eligible patients were evaluated. Median age was 19 years (2-41 years). Fourteen of astrocytomas were grade I, 6 of them grade II and 4 grade III. Ten patients had subtotal excision, and 14 had only biopsy of the primary lesion. Patients were treated with 1-2 Gy daily fractions, and given to a median total dose of 49.5 Gy (range 35-60 Gy) external radiotherapy to primary tumor. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 39 months. Seventeen patients died of their disease. Two patients have progression, and 5 patients are followed with stabile disease. Five-year overall survival was 45% and progression free survival was 40%. Among the analyzed factors only gender and age were found to be significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are slightly worse than previous retrospective radiotherapy series in the literature. With new imaging and radiation therapy techniques, radiotherapy may have a role as an adjuvant treatment especially in subtotally resected tumors.