Improved survival in cases of intracranial ependymoma after radiation therapy

Abstract

✓ A publication from the University of Rochester Cancer Center in 1975 suggested an improvement in the survival time of patients with intracranial ependymomas in whom an aggressive postoperative radiation therapy approach had been adopted. The regimen was tailored to the aggressiveness and spread patterns of these tumors and therefore considered the patient's age, tumor histopathology and location, and status of the subarachnoid space and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The authors proposed using whole brain (WB) fields for all patients with low-grade supratentorial tumors, and WB with cervical cord field extensions for low-grade infratentorial tumors if either group had no CSF or subarachnoid evidence of spinal metastases. They also proposed using craniospinal irradiation for all patients with high-grade ependymomas (regardless of location) or with low-grade infratentorial tumors with positive CSF or subarachnoid findings of spinal metastases. Recommended doses were as follows: 4500 rads to the whole brain, 5...