Postsurgical management strategies in patients with skull base chondrosarcomas

Chondrosarcomas of the skull base are rare, slow-growing tumors that are often lethal and remain a management quandary. A systematic review was performed to understand postsurgical management options for patients with these tumors. The current standard of care includes surgical resection followed by either adjuvant radiation therapy and/or early radiosurgery. The role of chemotherapy has been limited, but remains under investigation. Overall survival and progression-free survival range between 70 and 100% at 5 years when multimodality approaches are used. Overall survival may be greater for patients who have a shorter interval (<6 months) between diagnosis and radiosurgery, an older age, and either a single or no prior resection. Progression-free survival may be increased for patients older than 40 years of age, who have not had prior radiation therapy, and for those with smaller tumors that do not compress the brainstem.