Ependymoma: a follow-up study of 101 cases

One hundred and one patients with histologically confirmed ependymomas were studied over a 22-year period. Choroid plexus papilloma and sub-ependymoma were not included. About half of the tumors were intracranial, with the majority of these infratentorial. The intraspinal tumors were equally divided between intramedullary and the "cauda" group. The majority of the intracranial tumors occurred in children, while almost all the intraspinal tumors were in adults. The histologic classification consisted of "typical ependymoma" (cellular, papillary and myxopapillary patterns) and "anaplastic ependymoma". The intracranial and intramedullary tumors showed a predominantly cellular pattern, while the myxopapillary type was found only in the "cauda" group. The histology seems to be of limited value in assessing the prognosis in an individual patient with ependymoma. The postoperative prognosis was poor in the intracranial tumors, although radiotherapy increased the survival time without affecting the eventual fatal outcome. The prognosis in the intraspinal group was much better, with three-fourths of the patients living for at least 10 years. No patient with an anaplastic tumor survived for more than 6 years.