Clinical features and management of intracranial subependymomas in children

Supratentorial parenchymal ependymomas of children: experience with 14 patients at a single institute

“…GTR (10 of 14 patients in our series) is the optimal therapy for symptomatic supratentorial parenchymal ependymomas (2,3,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)12,15,(18)(19)(20)(21)23). In the present series, the postoperative care of patients depended on the operative procedure.…”

“…Most intracranial ependymomas develop within the ventricular system, but they may arise from the extraventricular parenchyma as well (2)(3)(4)(5)16). Supratentorial parenchymal ependymomas in children are a rarely seen pathological diagnosis.…”

“…In general, it is considered safe to observe the patient when postoperative CT or MRI shows gross total excision, particularly when the tumor is of low grade (3,9,19). Postoperative irradiation plays a role in the management of ependymomas, but indications for this adjuvant therapy remain a subject of debate.…”

“…STR was only achieved for tumors located in critical locations or tightly attached to surrounding structures. For the patients whose tumors could be totally removed, after the initial surgery, if accessible residual tumor tissue is found on postoperative MRI, an early second-look surgery should also be proposed (3,9,20).…”

“…Supratentorial parenchymal ependymomas represent a subgroup of tumors with a comparatively better prognosis (71.4% of the patients had an excellent outcome postoperatively) than that of infratentorial ependymomas (2,3,5,7,9,13,15). This may be related to the fact that total resection is more commonly achieved in patients with supratentorial tumors.…”