Prognostic Factors and Therapeutic Options of Radiotherapy in Pediatric Brain Stem Gliomas

Yu Ming Liu, Cheng Ying Shiau, Tai Tong Wong, Ling Wei Wang, Le Jung Wu, Kwan Hwa Chi, Kuang Y. Chen, Sang Hue Yen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: A retrospective analysis was made to clarify the relationship between prognosis, radiation dose and survival of brain stem gliomas. Methods: From 1983 to 1995, 22 children with brain stem tumors were treated by radiotherapy in the Veterans General Hospital-Taipei. Twelve patients had pathology proof and the remainder were diagnosed by computerized tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging. Seven patients had postoperative radiotherapy. Fifteen patients had radiotherapy as primary management, five of whom had adjuvant chemotherapy. All patients received 4000-7060 cGy, either in conventional daily or hyperfractionated twice daily radiotherapy. Survival from date of diagnosis was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analyses and multivariate analyses were calculated by the log rank test and the Cox proportional hazard model, respectively. Results: Most patients showed improvement following treatment. The overall 2-year survival rate was 55.5% with a median survival of 27.1 months. Two-year survival for patients with primary management of operation and radiotherapy (n = 7), radiotherapy alone (n = 10) and radiotherapy with adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 5) were 66.7, 50 and 53.3%, respectively. In univariate analysis, the study revealed that the growth pattern of tumors and the simultaneous presence of cranial neuropathy and long tract sign were significant prognostic factors (P= 0.017 and 0.036). A trend of better outcome with radiation dose > 6600 cGy and the hyperfractionation scheme was also noted in our study (P= 0.0573 and 0.0615). However, only the hyperfractionation scheme showed significance in multivariate analyses (P= 0.0355). Survival was not significantly affected by age, gender or method of diagnosis. Conclusion: Radiotherapy appears to be an effective treatment modality of brain stem tumors. Patients with both cranial neuropathy and long tract signs had a poorer outcome. Hyperfractionated radiotherapy may give better local control and lead to better survival.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)474-479
Number of pages6
JournalJapanese Journal of Clinical Oncology
Volume28
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1998
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Brain stem
  • Gliomas
  • Hypeifractionation
  • Radiotherapy
  • Survival

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
  • Cancer Research

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