Gliomas of the optic nerve or chiasm

1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellsworth C. Alvord ◽  
Steven Lofton

✓ A review of the literature revealed 623 cases of optic gliomas with sufficient information to permit actuarial (life-table) analysis concerning the prognosis of this disease by the patients' age, tumor site, treatment, and presence of concomitant neurofibromatosis or extension into the hypothalamus or ventricle. All of these factors are important. The development of mathematical models led to the conclusion that these tumors, generally regarded histologically as low-grade astrocytomas, actually have a very wide but continuous range of growth rates. Some grow rapidly enough to be explained by simple exponential doubling at a constant rate, but most behave as though their growth decelerates. Decelerating growth rates make comparisons of various groups of patients difficult. No support is found for the classical hypothesis that some may be hamartomas. Inadequately treated gliomas of the optic nerve or chiasm bear about the same poor prognosis. However, tumors of the optic nerve (intracranial as well as intraorbital) have an excellent prognosis following complete surgical excision and only a slightly poorer prognosis following irradiation. About 5% of optic nerve gliomas recur in the chiasm following “complete” intraorbital excision. Patients with neurofibromatosis have about twice the recurrence rate following complete excision of an intraorbital glioma. Optic chiasmal gliomas appear to respond to irradiation with doses above 4500 rads. Patients with neurofibromatosis have about the same prognosis as patients without neurofibromatosis following irradiation of a chiasmal glioma.

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Pencalet ◽  
Christian Sainte-Rose ◽  
Arielle Lellouch-Tubiana ◽  
Chantal Kalifa ◽  
Francis Brunelle ◽  
...  

Object. Choroid plexus tumors are rare intraventricular tumors (1% of all intracranial tumors) that occur mainly in children. The pathophysiological characteristics of associated hydrocephalus, surgical management, and oncological issues related to these tumors remain a matter of debate. To understand more about these tumors, the authors have reviewed their experience with the management of 38 children with choroid plexus tumors. Methods. There were 25 cases of papilloma and 13 of carcinoma. The mean age of the patients at presentation was 22.5 months, and one-half of the patients were younger than 2 years of age. Hydrocephalus was present in 33 patients and poorly correlated with the size, site, and pathological characteristics of the tumor. In nine children, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was required after tumor excision, calling into question the notion that cerebrospinal fluid oversecretion is the only cause of hydrocephalus. Complete excision was achieved in 96% of the cases of papilloma and 61.5% of the cases of carcinoma. These surgical procedures were complicated by the risks of intraoperative hemorrhage, which proved to be fatal in two cases, and postoperative brain collapse, which led to subdural fluid collections requiring subdural shunt placement in six patients. Preoperative embolization was partially successful in four cases and significantly assisted surgery. Preoperative controlled drainage of excessively dilated ventricles and intraoperative gluing of the cortical incision have been used to address the problem of postoperative brain collapse. Patients with carcinomas were treated postoperatively by chemotherapy alone (seven cases), radiotherapy (one case), or chemotherapy plus radiotherapy (one case). The overall 5-year survival rate was 100% for patients with papillomas and 40% for those with carcinomas. Conclusions. Total surgical excision is curative in cases of papillomas. For carcinomas, the most effective treatment remains total surgical excision; however, adjuvant treatment in the form of chemotherapy in patients younger than age 3 years, supplemented by radiation therapy in older children, can moderately reduce the risk of recurrence.


1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 976-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoichi Katayama ◽  
Takashi Tsubokawa ◽  
Takehiko Hirasawa ◽  
Tetsuya Takahata ◽  
Norimichi Nemoto

✓ Chordomas that are entirely extraosseous and intradural are extremely rare. The tumors described in the literature were observed mostly in the prepontine region. This is the first case reported of an intradural extraosseous chordoma occurring in the foramen magnum region. The tumor was totally excised. The distinction between an intradural extraosseous chordoma and a classic chordoma is important from a clinical viewpoint because of the potential for complete surgical excision and a more benign growth pattern.


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. Regine ◽  
Roy A. Patchell ◽  
James M. Strottmann ◽  
Ali Meigooni ◽  
Michael Sanders ◽  
...  

Object. This investigation was performed to determine the tolerance and toxicities of split-course fractionated gamma knife radiosurgery (FSRS) given in combination with conventional external-beam radiation therapy (CEBRT). Methods. Eighteen patients with previously unirradiated, gliomas treated between March 1995 and January 2000 form the substrate of this report. These included 11 patients with malignant gliomas, six with low-grade gliomas, and one with a recurrent glioma. They were stratified into three groups according to tumor volume (TV). Fifteen were treated using the initial FSRS dose schedule and form the subject of this report. Group A (four patients), had TV of 5 cm3 or less (7 Gy twice pre- and twice post-CEBRT); Group B (six patients), TV greater than 5 cm3 but less than or equal to 15 cm3 (7 Gy twice pre-CEBRT and once post-CEBRT); and Group C (five patients), TV greater than 15 cm3 but less than or equal to 30 cm3 (7 Gy once pre- and once post-CEBRT). All patients received CEBRT to 59.4 Gy in 1.8-Gy fractions. Dose escalation was planned, provided the level of toxicity was acceptable. All patients were able to complete CEBRT without interruption or experiencing disease progression. Unacceptable toxicity was observed in two Grade 4/Group B patients and two Grade 4/Group C patients. Eight patients required reoperation. In three (38%) there was necrosis without evidence of tumor. Neuroimaging studies were available for evaluation in 14 patients. Two had a partial (≥ 50%) reduction in volume and nine had a minor (> 20%) reduction in size. The median follow-up period was 15 months (range 9–60 months). Six patients remained alive for 3 to 60 months. Conclusions. The imaging responses and the ability of these patients with intracranial gliomas to complete therapy without interruption or experiencing disease progression is encouraging. Excessive toxicity derived from combined FSRS and CEBRT treatment, as evaluated thus far in this study, was seen in patients with Group B and C lesions at the 7-Gy dose level. Evaluation of this novel treatment strategy with dose modification is ongoing.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 542-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Levivier ◽  
David Wikler ◽  
Nicolas Massager ◽  
Philippe David ◽  
Daniel Devriendt ◽  
...  

Object. The authors review their experience with the clinical development and routine use of positron emission tomography (PET) during stereotactic procedures, including the use of PET-guided gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS). Methods. Techniques have been developed for the routine use of stereotactic PET, and accumulated experience using PET-guided stereotactic procedures over the past 10 years includes more than 150 stereotactic biopsies, 43 neuronavigation procedures, and 34 cases treated with GKS. Positron emission tomography—guided GKS was performed in 24 patients with primary brain tumors (four pilocytic astrocytomas, five low-grade astrocytomas or oligodendrogliomas, seven anaplastic astrocytomas or ependymomas, five glioblastomas, and three neurocytomas), five patients with metastases (single or multiple lesions), and five patients with pituitary adenomas. Conclusions. Data obtained with PET scanning can be integrated with GKS treatment planning, enabling access to metabolic information with high spatial accuracy. Positron emission tomography data can be successfully combined with magnetic resonance imaging data to provide specific information for defining the target volume for the radiosurgical treatment in patients with recurrent brain tumors, such as glioma, metastasis, and pituitary adenoma. This approach is particularly useful for optimizing target selection for infiltrating or ill-defined brain lesions. The use of PET scanning contributed data in 31 cases (93%) and information that was specifically utilized to adapt the target volume in 25 cases (74%). It would seem that the integration of PET data into GKS treatment planning may represent an important step toward further developments in radiosurgery: this approach provides additional information that may open new perspectives for the optimization of the treatment of brain tumors.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (Special_Supplement) ◽  
pp. 143-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Kwon ◽  
Jun Seok Bae ◽  
Jae Myung Kim ◽  
Do Hee Lee ◽  
Soon Young Kim ◽  
...  

✓ Tumors involving the optic nerve (optic glioma, optic nerve sheath meningioma) are benign but difficult to treat. Gamma knife surgery (GKS) may be a useful treatment. The authors present data obtained in three such cases and record the effects of GKS.


1987 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Isla ◽  
José Palacios ◽  
José M. Roda ◽  
Manuel Gutierrez ◽  
Cesáreo González ◽  
...  

✓ A 34-year-old woman presented with progressive loss of vision in her left eye of 2 months' evolution. Computerized tomography showed a hypodense lesion in the suprasellar region. At surgery a cystic lesion was found inside the optic nerve. Histological study proved it to be a neuroepithelial cyst. The pathogenesis of a neuroepithelial cyst in such an exceptional site is discussed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Forsyth ◽  
Patrick J. Kelly ◽  
Terrence L. Cascino ◽  
Bernd W. Scheithauer ◽  
Edward G. Shaw ◽  
...  

✓ Fifty-one patients with supratentorial glioma treated with external beam radiotherapy (median dose 59.5 Gy) who then demonstrated clinical or radiographic evidence of disease progression underwent stereotactic biopsy to differentiate tumor recurrence from radiation necrosis. The original tumor histological type was diffuse or fibrillary astrocytoma in 21 patients (41%), oligodendroglioma in 13 (26%), and oligoastrocytoma in 17 (33%); 40 tumors (78%) were low-grade (Kernohan Grade 1 or 2). The median time to suspected disease progression was 28 months. Stereotactic biopsy showed tumor recurrence in 30 patients (59%), radiation necrosis in three (6%), and a mixture of both in 17 (33%); one patient (2%) had a parenchymal radiation-induced chondroblastic osteosarcoma. The tumor type at stereotactic biopsy was similar to the original tumor type and was astrocytoma in 24 patients (47%), oligodendroglioma in eight (16%), oligoastrocytoma in 16 (31%), unclassifiable in two (4%), and chondroblastic osteosarcoma in one patient (2%). At biopsy, however, only 19 tumors (37%) were low grade (Kernohan Grade 1 or 2). Subsequent surgery confirmed the stereotactic biopsy histological findings in eight patients. Follow-up examination showed 14 patients alive with a median survival of 1 year for the entire group. Median survival times after biopsy were 0.83 year for patients with tumor recurrence and 1.86 years for patients with both tumor recurrence and radionecrosis; these findings were significantly different (p = 0.008, log-rank test). No patient with radiation necrosis alone died. Other factors associated with reduced survival were a high proportion of residual tumor (p = 0.024), a low proportion of radionecrosis (p < 0.001), and a Kernohan Grade of × or 4 (p = 0.005). In conclusion, in patients with previously irradiated supratentorial gliomas in whom radionecrosis or tumor recurrence was clinically or radiographically suspected, results of stereotactic biopsy could be used to differentiate tumor recurrence, radiation necrosis, a mixture of both lesions, or radiation-induced neoplasm. In addition, biopsy results could predict survival rates.


1982 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiich In ◽  
Jun Miyagi ◽  
Nobuto Kojho ◽  
Shinken Kuramoto ◽  
Masaki Uehara

✓ An intraorbital hemangioblastoma of the optic nerve is reported in a 23-year-old woman with von Hippel-Lindau disease. The absence of dural attachment and the microscopic findings were characteristic of hemangioblastoma. Four years later the patient developed a cystic hemangioblastoma in the left cerebellum which was successfully treated.


1971 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert W. Cook

✓ An operative technique for total removal of large global meningiomas at the medial aspect of the sphenoid ridge is described, and experience with 11 patients reported. The technique involves extradural liberation of the dural and tumor attachments to the underlying bone, and extradural occlusion of the blood supply through bone and middle meningeal artery. Subsequent procedures are carried out sequentially in the parasellar area to free the optic nerve and carotid, in the subtemporal tentorial region to release tumor from neighboring structures, and in the Sylvian fissure to isolate the middle cerebral artery.


1975 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward L. Katz

✓ The results of radical surgical excision of craniopharyngiomas in children operated on by Dr. Donald Matson beginning in 1950 are presented. The patients are analyzed in regard to survival and quality of survival. While 22 of 34 children so treated at the initial operation are presently alive and tumor-free, high mortality and morbidity followed in cases where reoperation was performed. Properly treated endocrinological deficits need not be a serious problem, but persistent hyperosmolality carried a grave prognosis. No predictive criteria are yet available to determine which tumors are amenable to radical surgical excision.


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