Pineal Tumors

A wide variety of tumor types occur in the pineal region of the brain, including gliomas, germ cell tumors, lymphomas, pineal parenchymal cell tumors, meningiomas and other tumor types. Their behavior ranges from benign to malignant, depending on the type of tumor which is present. The most common presenting symptoms of these tumors include headache, upward gaze paralysis, and mental status changes, often associated with blockage of the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid (hydrocephalus). Some of these tumors occur most often in children.

Because of the deep location of these tumors in the brain complete surgical removal is very difficult to achieve. Conventional radiation therapy has been proven useful for a number of types of pineal tumors, but has the disadvantage of exposing healthy brain tissue surrounding the tumor to radiation. This is necessary for certain types of pineal tumors, but can lead to late side effects, particularly in children. Chemotherapy has also been proven to be useful in treatment of several types of pineal tumors.

Radiosurgery has been used with promising results to treat a wide variety of pineal tumors, often in conjunction with other forms of treatment. It is particularly effective when the volume of tumor is small, and is frequently used when other treatments have reduced the size of the tumor. Additionally, a significant advantage of radiosurgery is the safety of this treatment compared with alternative methods.

References

Stereotactic Radiosurgery in the Treatment of Pineal Region Tumors. in Gamma Knife Brain Surgery. Prog Neurol Surg. Basel, Karger, 1998, vol 14, pp 175-194

Dempsey P. et al: Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Pineal Region Tumors. Neurosurg. Clin. North Am. 1992: 245-253

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