Management and Surveillance of Short- and Long-Term Sequelae of Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Pediatric Brain Tumors

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (06) ◽  
pp. 307-312
Author(s):  
Fred Chiu-Lai Lam ◽  
Ekkehard M Kasper ◽  
Anand Mahadevan

AbstractRadiation therapy (RT) is a mainstay for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors. As improvements in and sophistication of this modality continue to increase the survival of patients, the long-term sequelae of RT pose significant challenges in the clinical management of this patient population as they transition into adulthood. In this special edition, we review the short- and long-term effects of RT for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors and the necessary surveillance required for follow-up.

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii459-iii459
Author(s):  
Takashi Mori ◽  
Shigeru Yamaguchi ◽  
Rikiya Onimaru ◽  
Takayuki Hashimoto ◽  
Hidefumi Aoyama

Abstract BACKGROUND As the outcome of pediatric brain tumors improves, late recurrence and radiation-induced tumor cases are more likely to occur, and the number of cases requiring re-irradiation is expected to increase. Here we report two cases performed intracranial re-irradiation after radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors. CASE 1: 21-year-old male. He was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma at eight years old and underwent a tumor resection. At 10 years old, the local recurrence of suprasellar region was treated with 50.4 Gy/28 fr of stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT). After that, other recurrent lesions appeared in the left cerebellopontine angle, and he received surgery three times. The tumor was gross totally resected and re-irradiation with 40 Gy/20 fr of SRT was performed. We have found no recurrence or late effects during the one year follow-up. CASE 2: 15-year-old female. At three years old, she received 18 Gy/10 fr of craniospinal irradiation and 36 Gy/20 fr of boost to the posterior fossa as postoperative irradiation for anaplastic ependymoma and cured. However, a anaplastic meningioma appeared on the left side of the skull base at the age of 15, and 50 Gy/25 fr of postoperative intensity-modulated radiation therapy was performed. Two years later, another meningioma developed in the right cerebellar tent, and 54 Gy/27 fr of SRT was performed. Thirty-three months after re-irradiation, MRI showed a slight increase of the lesion, but no late toxicities are observed. CONCLUSION The follow-up periods are short, however intracranial re-irradiation after radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors were feasible and effective.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 9531-9531
Author(s):  
Tara M. Brinkman ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Gregory T. Armstrong ◽  
Amar J. Gajjar ◽  
Thomas E. Merchant ◽  
...  

9531 Background: Follow-up guidelines identify supratentorial tumor location as a risk factor for poor neurocognitive outcomes during childhood; yet few studies have systematically compared long-term cognitive outcomes between adult survivors of childhood infratentorial and supratentorial brain tumors. Methods: Neurocognitive functions were evaluated in 130 adult survivors of pediatric brain tumors (58 supratentorial and 72 infratentorial, mean [SD] current age = 27.4 years [5.2], age at diagnosis = 8.6 years [4.6], and time since diagnosis = 18.8 years [4.8]) participating in the SJLIFE long-term follow-up protocol. Age-adjusted standard scores for measures of intelligence, attention, memory, processing speed, and executive functioning were calculated, with clinical impairment defined as scores <10th percentile. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariable logistic regression models to examine associations between neurocognitive functions and tumor location. Results: As a group, survivors performed below average across multiple neurocognitive domains, including full scale IQ (mean=88.1; SD=18.2), with 34% demonstrating impaired IQ. Survivors of infratentorial tumors were more likely to be impaired on measures of focused attention (OR=2.19, 95% CI=1.03-4.65) and fine motor dexterity (OR=2.62, 95% CI=1.21-5.66) compared to survivors of supratentorial tumors. After adjusting for sex, age at diagnosis, shunt placement and cranial radiation (yes/no), infratentorial tumor location was only associated with reduced performance on a task of visual abstract reasoning (OR=3.76, 95% CI=1.40-10.1). Cranial radiation therapy was independently associated with impaired short-term memory (OR=15.6, 95% CI=1.64-147.8) and processing speed (OR=3.86, 95% CI=1.15-13.0). Conclusions: Tumor location was not associated with neurocognitive impairment after adjusting for treatment exposures. To further delineate potential differences associated with tumor location, future studies will examine factors including radiation dose/volume, extent of surgical resection, and medical complications.


1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 314-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny K. Sneed ◽  
Carolyn Russo ◽  
Cindy O. Scharfen ◽  
Michael D. Prados ◽  
Mary K. Malec ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii432-iii432
Author(s):  
Adeoye Oyefiade ◽  
Kiran Beera ◽  
Iska Moxon-Emre ◽  
Jovanka Skocic ◽  
Ute Bartels ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION Treatments for pediatric brain tumors (PBT) are neurotoxic and lead to long-term deficits that are driven by the perturbation of underlying white matter (WM). It is unclear if and how treatment may impair WM connectivity across the entire brain. METHODS Magnetic resonance images from 41 PBT survivors (mean age: 13.19 years, 53% M) and 41 typically developing (TD) children (mean age: 13.32 years, 51% M) were analyzed. Image reconstruction, segmentation, and node parcellation were completed in FreeSurfer. DTI maps and probabilistic streamline generation were completed in MRtrix3. Connectivity matrices were based on the number of streamlines connecting two nodes and the mean DTI (FA) index across streamlines. We used graph theoretical analyses to define structural differences between groups, and random forest (RF) analyses to identify hubs that reliably classify PBT and TD children. RESULTS For survivors treated with radiation, betweeness centrality was greater in the left insular (p &lt; 0.000) but smaller in the right pallidum (p &lt; 0.05). For survivors treated without radiation (surgery-only), betweeness centrality was smaller in the right interparietal sulcus (p &lt; 0.05). RF analyses showed that differences in WM connectivity from the right pallidum to other parts of the brain reliably classified PBT survivors from TD children (classification accuracy = 77%). CONCLUSIONS The left insular, right pallidum, and right inter-parietal sulcus are structurally perturbed hubs in PBT survivors. WM connectivity from the right pallidum is vulnerable to the long-term effects of treatment for PBT.


2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. E10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin N. Kiehna ◽  
Thomas E. Merchant

Object The treatment of craniopharyngioma is highly controversial. Continued advances in limited surgery and radiation therapy have maintained excellent local disease control while minimizing treatment-related sequelae. Further analyses of outcomes are necessary to characterize the long-term effects of radiation therapy. Methods An extensive literature review was performed for all studies including radiation therapy, with or without surgery, for pediatric craniopharyngioma. Results The authors identified 32 papers describing radiation therapy for treatment of pediatric craniopharyngioma, with disease control ranging from 44 to 100%. Modern studies report at least 90% disease control with 5-year follow-up. Fifteen studies reported outcomes, demonstrating that more than two-thirds of patients treated with surgery and radiation therapy have favorable outcomes, and this rate is more than 85% in the modern era. Conclusions Conservative surgery and radiation therapy results in long-term disease control in pediatric patients with craniopharyngioma that is comparable to results obtained with radical surgery alone. However, children with craniopharyngioma remain vulnerable to late treatment failures and side effects from radiation therapy, including endocrinopathies, vasculopathies, and secondary tumors, which may be detrimental to the quality of life. Long-term follow-up beyond 5–10 years is necessary to assess tumor control relative to functional outcomes.


Epilepsia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 1599-1604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole J. Ullrich ◽  
Scott L. Pomeroy ◽  
Kush Kapur ◽  
Peter E. Manley ◽  
Liliana C. Goumnerova ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Elian Zuercher-Huerlimann ◽  
Martin grosse Holtforth ◽  
Ernst Hermann

Objectives.To examine the predictive value of early improvement for short- and long-term outcome in the treatment of depressive female inpatients and to explore the influence of comorbid disorders (CD).Methods.Archival data of a naturalistic sample of 277 female inpatients diagnosed with a depressive disorder was analyzed assessing the BDI at baseline, after 20 days and 30 days, posttreatment, and after 3 to 6 months at follow-up. Early improvement, defined as a decrease in the BDI score of at least 30% after 20 and after 30 days, and CD were analyzed using binary logistic regression.Results.Both early improvement definitions were predictive of remission at posttreatment. Early improvement after 30 days showed a sustained treatment effect in the follow-up phase, whereas early improvement after 20 days failed to show a persistent effect regarding remission at follow-up. CD were not significantly related neither at posttreatment nor at follow-up. At no time point CD moderated the prediction by early improvement.Conclusions.We show that early improvement is a valid predictor for short-term remission and at follow-up in an inpatient setting. CD did not predict outcome. Further studies are needed to identify patient subgroups amenable to more tailored treatments.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 675-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aria Fallah ◽  
Alexander G. Weil ◽  
Samir Sur ◽  
Ian Miller ◽  
Prasanna Jayakar ◽  
...  

OBJECT Pediatric brain tumors may be associated with medically intractable epilepsy for which surgery is indicated. The authors sought to evaluate the efficacy of epilepsy surgery for seizure control in pediatric patients with brain tumors. METHODS The authors performed a retrospective review of consecutive patients undergoing resective epilepsy surgery related to pediatric brain tumors at Miami Children’s Hospital between June 1986 and June 2014. Time-to-event analysis for seizure recurrence was performed; an “event” was defined as any seizures that occurred following resective epilepsy surgery, not including seizures and auras in the 1st postoperative week. The authors analyzed several preoperative variables to determine their suitability to predict seizure recurrence following surgery. RESULTS Eighty-four patients (47 males) with a mean age (± standard deviation) of 8.7 ± 5.5 years (range 0.5–21.6 years) were included. The study included 39 (46%) patients with gliomas, 20 (24%) with dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNETs), 14 (17%) with gangliogliomas, and 11 (13%) with other etiologies. Among the patients with gliomas, 18 were classified with low-grade glioma, 5 had oligodendroglioma, 6 had uncategorized astrocytoma, 3 had pilocytic astrocytoma, 3 had pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma, 3 had glioblastoma, and 1 had gliomatosis cerebri. Seventy-nine (94.0%) resections were guided by intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG). The mean time (± standard deviation) to seizure recurrence was 81.8 ± 6.3 months. Engel Class I outcome was achieved in 66 (78%) and 63 (75%) patients at 1 and 2 years’ follow-up, respectively. Patients with ganglioglioma demonstrated the highest probability of long-term seizure freedom, followed by patients with DNETs and gliomas. In univariate analyses, temporal location (HR 1.75, 95% CI 0.26–1.27, p = 0.171) and completeness of resection (HR 1.69, 95% CI 0.77–3.74, p = 0.191) demonstrated a trend toward a longer duration of seizure freedom. CONCLUSIONS ECoG-guided epilepsy surgery for pediatric patients with brain tumors is highly effective. Tumors located in the temporal lobe and those in which a complete ECoG-guided resection is performed may result in a greater likelihood of long-term seizure freedom.


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