Abstract
Eighteen patients with pineal region tumors seen from November 1960 to November 1978 were reviewed. Thirteen patients treated with radiation therapy received tumor doses in the 4000–5500 rad range. The five year survival and five year disease-free survival were 73 and 63% respectively. Spinal cord metastasis occurred in 2 of 13 (15%) patients. Attempts at salvage radiotherapy for these patients were unsuccessful. Computerized tomography (CT scan provides an excellent method of evaluating the response of pineal region tumors to radiation. Rapid regression of the tumor mass on CT scan reflects the highly radioresponsive nature of germinomas, the tumor type most likely to disseminate throughout the neuraxis. This principle can be exploited to select unbiopsied patients with a high risk of spinal cord metastasis for prophylactic spinal radiation at an early stage of treatment.
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