Summary
Purpose/Objective
To evaluate the efficacy and the toxicity of Gamma Knife (GK)-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in the management of gross disease in ependymoma.
Materials and methods
Eight patients with 13 ependymomas were treated with GK-based SRS in our institution for gross disease. Five patients were treated for recurrent disease that developed after surgery and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), two received SRS to the gross disease after surgery and EBRT, and one received SRS alone (in a 1.3 year old child). Median EBRT dose was 54.4 Gy (range 50–55.8 Gy). Median SRS dose was 14 Gy (range 12–20 Gy). Seven of eight (87.5%) patients had SRS to a single lesion and one of eight (12.5%) patients had treatment to six tumors in three different sessions.
Results
The median follow up was 30.2 months (range 8–65.4 months). Out of the eight patients treated with SRS, six (75%) were alive, four (50%) were alive with no recurrence, two (25%) were alive with recurrence, and two (25%) died of recurrent disease. Both patients treated with SRS as a boost were alive and without recurrence. Out of the five patients who received SRS as salvage treatment, three (60%) were alive, two (40%) were alive without recurrence, two (40%) developed distant failure, and three (60%) had in-field control. Two patients who received SRS to their brainstem lesions developed symptoms related to radionecrosis and were successfully treated with steroid with good control of symptoms.
Conclusions
GK-based SRS appears to be a feasible and safe treatment modality for patients with ependymoma with unresectable gross disease or gross residual disease after surgery. SRS provides reasonable local control but out-of-field tumor progression remains an issue. For patients who receive SRS as a boost, the local control appears to be excellent.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Foreman NK, Love S, Thorne R, Intracranial ependymomas: analysis of prognostic factors in a population-based series Pediatr Neurosurg 24:119–125, 1996
Perilongo G, Massimino M, Sotti G, Belfontali T, Masiero L, Rigobello L, Garre L, Carli M, Lombardi F, Solero C, Sainati L, Canale V, del Prever AB, Giangaspero F, Andreussi L, Mazza C, Madon E, Analyses of prognostic factors in a retrospective review of 92 children with ependymoma: Italian Pediatric Neuro-oncology Group Med Pediatr Oncol 29:79–85, 1997
Horn B, Heideman R, Geyer R, Pollack I, Packer R, Goldwein J, Tomita T, Schomberg P, Ater J, Luchtman-Jones L, Rivlin K, Lamborn K, Prados M, Bollen A, Berger M, Dahl G, McNeil E, Patterson K, Shaw D, Kubalik M, Russo C, A multi-institutional retrospective study of intracranial ependymoma in children: identification of risk factors J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 21:203–211, 1999
Sutton LN, Goldwein J, Perilongo G, Lang B, Schut L, Rorke L, Packer R: Prognostic factors in childhood ependymomas Pediatr Neurosurg 16:57–65, 1990–1991
Pollack IF, Gerszten PC, Martinez AJ, Lo KH, Shultz B, Albright AL, Janosky J, Deutsch M, Intracranial ependymomas of childhood: Long-term outcome and prognostic factors Neurosurg 37:655–666, 1995
Rousseau P, Habrand JL, Sarrazin D, Kalifa C, Terrier-Lacombe MJ, Rekacewicz C, Rey A, Treatment of intracranial ependymomas of children: review of a 15-year experience Int J Radiat Biol Phys 28:381–386, 1994
Robertson PL, Zeltzer PM, Boyett JM, Rorke LB, Allen JC, Geyer JR, Stanley P, Li H, Albright AL, McGuire-Cullen P, Finlay JL, Stevens KR Jr, Milstein JM, Packer RJ, Wisoff J, Survival and prognostic factors following radiation therapy and chemotherapy for ependymomas in children: a report of the Children’s Cancer Group J Neurosurg 88:695–703, 1998
Needle MN, Goldwein JW, Grass J, Cnaan A, Bergman I, Molloy P, Sutton L, Zhao H, Garvin JH Jr, Phillips PC, Adjuvant chemotherapy for the treatment of intracranial ependymoma of childhood Cancer 80:341–347, 1997
Nazar GB, Hoffman HJ, Becker LE, Jenkin D, Humphreys RP, Hendrick EB, Infratentorial ependymomas in childhood: prognostic factors and treatment J Neurosurg 72:408–417, 1990
Healey EA, Barnes PD, Kupsky WJ, Scott RM, Sallan SE, Black PM, Tarbell NJ, The prognostic significance of postoperative residual tumor in ependymoma Neurosurgery 28:666–671, 1991
Horn B, Heideman R, Geyer R, Pollack I, Packer R, Goldwein J, Tomita T, Schomberg P, Ater J, Luchtman-Jones L, Rivlin K, Lamborn K, Prados M, Bollen A, Berger M, Dahl G, McNeil E, Patterson K, Shaw D, Kubalik M, Russo C, A multi-institutional retrospective study of intracranial ependymoma in children: identification of risk factors J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 21:203–211, 1999
Sanford RA, Gajjar A, Ependymomas Clin Neurosurg 44:559–570, 1997
Merchant TE, Haida T, Wang MH, Finlay JL, Leibel SA, Anaplastic ependymoma: treatment of pediatric patients with or without craniospinal radiation therapy J Neurosurg 86:943–949, 1997
Vanuytsel LJ, Bessell EM, Ashley SE, Bloom HJ, Brada M, Intracranial ependymoma: long-term results of a policy of surgery and radiotherapy Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 23:313–319, 1992
Marks JE, Adler SJ, A comparative study of ependymomas by site of origin Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 8:37–43, 1982
Goldwein JW, Leahy JM, Packer RJ, Sutton LN, Curran WJ, Rorke LB, Schut L, Littman PS, D’Angio GJ, Intracranial ependymomas in children Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 19:1497–1502, 1990
Kovnar E, Curran W, Tomita, Hyperfractionated irradiation for childhood ependymoma: improved local control in subtotally resected tumors (abstract) Childs Nerv Syst 14:489, 1998
Merchant TE, Mulhern RK, Krasin MJ, Kun LE, Williams T, Li C, Xiong X, Khan RB, Lustig RH, Boop FA, Sanford RA, Preliminary results from a phase II trial of conformal radiation therapy and evaluation of radiation-related CNS effects for pediatric patients with localized ependymoma J Clin Oncol 22(15):3156–3162, 2004
Aggarwal R, Yeung D, Kumar P, Muhlbauer M, Kun LE, Efficacy and feasibility of stereotactic radiosurgery in the primary management of unfavorable pediatric ependymoma Radiother Oncol 43(3):269–273, 1997
Mansur DB, Drzymala RE, Rich KM, Klein EE, Simpson JR, The efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery in the management of intracranial ependymoma J Neurooncol 66(1–2):187–190, 2004
Hodgson DC, Goumnerova LC, Loeffler JS, Dutton S, Black PM, Alexander E III, Xu R, Kooy H, Silver B, Tarbell NJ, Radiosurgery in the management of pediatric brain tumors Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 50(4):929–935, 2001
Merchant TE, Current management of childhood ependymoma. Oncology (Williston Park) 16(5):629–642, 644, 2002
Hirato M, Nakamura M, Inoue HK, Ohye C, Hirato J, Shibazaki T, Andou Y, Gamma knife radiosurgery for the treatment of brainstem tumors. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg 64(Suppl 1):32–41, 1995
Loeffler JS, Rossitch E Jr, Siddon R, Moore MR, Rockoff MA, Alexander E III, Role of stereotactic radiosurgery with a linear accelerator in treatment of intracranial arteriovenous malformations and tumors in children Pediatrics 85: 774–782, 1990
Grabb PA, Lunsford LD, Albright AL, Kondziolka D, Flickinger JC, Stereotactic radiosurgery for glial neoplasms of childhood Neurosurgery 38(4):696–701, 1996
Jawahar A, Kondziolka D, Flickinger JC, Lunsford LD, Adjuvant stereotactic radiosurgery for anaplastic ependymoma Stereotact Funct Neurosurg 73(1–4):23–30, 1999
Stafford SL, Pollock BE, Foote RL, Gorman DA, Nelson DF, Schomberg PJ, Stereotactic radiosurgery for recurrent ependymoma Cancer 88(4):870–5, 2000
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This paper has been presented in the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Meeting in Denver, CO in October 2005.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lo, S.S., Abdulrahman, R., DesRosiers, P.M. et al. The role of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery in the management of unresectable gross disease or gross residual disease after surgery in ependymoma. J Neurooncol 79, 51–56 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-005-9112-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-005-9112-y