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Health Dictionary

Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

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Ependymoma natural history

Introduction

Overview

Overview

If left untreated, patients with ependymoma may progress to develop nausea, vomiting, headache, and irritability. Common complications of ependymoma include seizure, hydrocephalus, muscle paralysis, and speech problems.

Complication

Complication

Common complications associated with ependymomas are:

Prognosis

Prognosis

Unfavorable factors affecting outcome include the following:[1]

  • Gain of chromosome 1q25 is present in approximately 20% of pediatric intracranial ependymoma cases and has been reported as a negative prognostic factor by multiple research groups.[2][3]
  • Gene expression profile[4]
  • Other factors that have been reported to be associated with poor prognosis for pediatric ependymoma include expression of the enzymatic subunit of telomerase (hTERT) and expression of the neural stem cell marker Nestin.[5][6]
  • Tumor location. Cranial variants of ependymoma have a less favorable outcome than primary spinal cord ependymomas. Location within the spinal cord may also affect outcome, with tumors in the lower portion of the spinal cord having a worse prognosis.[7]
  • Younger age at diagnosis.[8]
  • Anaplastic histology[9]
  • Subtotal resection[10]
  • Lower doses of radiation[11]
  • Immunohistochemical testing has identified increased expression of markers of proliferation (e.g., Ki-67 and MIB-1) and increased expression of EZH2, a polycomb complex protein involved in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, as prognostic factors for greater risk of treatment failure.[12][13][14]
References

References

  1. ↑ Eoendymoma. http://www.cancer.gov/types/brain/hp/child-ependymoma-treatment-pdq#section/_35 URL Accessed on 10 6 2015.
  2. ↑ Godfraind C, Kaczmarska JM, Kocak M, Dalton J, Wright KD, Sanford RA; et al. (2012). “Distinct disease-risk groups in pediatric supratentorial and posterior fossa ependymomas”. Acta Neuropathol. 124 (2): 247–57. doi:10.1007/s00401-012-0981-9. PMC 3554251. PMID 22526017.
  3. ↑ Mendrzyk F, Korshunov A, Benner A, Toedt G, Pfister S, Radlwimmer B; et al. (2006). “Identification of gains on 1q and epidermal growth factor receptor overexpression as independent prognostic markers in intracranial ependymoma”. Clin Cancer Res. 12 (7 Pt 1): 2070–9. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-05-2363. PMID 16609018.
  4. ↑ Wani K, Armstrong TS, Vera-Bolanos E, Raghunathan A, Ellison D, Gilbertson R; et al. (2012). “A prognostic gene expression signature in infratentorial ependymoma”. Acta Neuropathol. 123 (5): 727–38. doi:10.1007/s00401-012-0941-4. PMC 4013829. PMID 22322993.
  5. ↑ Tabori U, Ma J, Carter M, Zielenska M, Rutka J, Bouffet E; et al. (2006). “Human telomere reverse transcriptase expression predicts progression and survival in pediatric intracranial ependymoma”. J Clin Oncol. 24 (10): 1522–8. doi:10.1200/JCO.2005.04.2127. PMID 16575002.
  6. ↑ Modena P, Buttarelli FR, Miceli R, Piccinin E, Baldi C, Antonelli M; et al. (2012). “Predictors of outcome in an AIEOP series of childhood ependymomas: a multifactorial analysis”. Neuro Oncol. 14 (11): 1346–56. doi:10.1093/neuonc/nos245. PMC 3480268. PMID 23076205.
  7. ↑ Oh MC, Sayegh ET, Safaee M, Sun MZ, Kaur G, Kim JM; et al. (2013). “Prognosis by tumor location for pediatric spinal cord ependymomas”. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 11 (3): 282–8. doi:10.3171/2012.11.PEDS12292. PMID 23259510.
  8. ↑ Tamburrini G, D’Ercole M, Pettorini BL, Caldarelli M, Massimi L, Di Rocco C (2009). “Survival following treatment for intracranial ependymoma: a review”. Childs Nerv Syst. 25 (10): 1303–12. doi:10.1007/s00381-009-0874-y. PMID 19387655.
  9. ↑ Korshunov A, Golanov A, Sycheva R, Timirgaz V (2004). “The histologic grade is a main prognostic factor for patients with intracranial ependymomas treated in the microneurosurgical era: an analysis of 258 patients”. Cancer. 100 (6): 1230–7. doi:10.1002/cncr.20075. PMID 15022291.
  10. ↑ White F (1975). “Epidemiology and infection control”. Dimens Health Serv. 52 (12): 34, 37, 39. PMID 1303-12 Check |pmid= value (help).
  11. ↑ Vaidya K, Smee R, Williams JR (2012). “Prognostic factors and treatment options for paediatric ependymomas”. J Clin Neurosci. 19 (9): 1228–35. doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2012.02.006. PMID 22840355.
  12. ↑ Li AM, Dunham C, Tabori U, Carret AS, McNeely PD, Johnston D; et al. (2015). “EZH2 expression is a prognostic factor in childhood intracranial ependymoma: a Canadian Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium study”. Cancer. 121 (9): 1499–507. doi:10.1002/cncr.29198. PMID 25586788.
  13. ↑ Wolfsberger S, Fischer I, Höftberger R, Birner P, Slavc I, Dieckmann K; et al. (2004). “Ki-67 immunolabeling index is an accurate predictor of outcome in patients with intracranial ependymoma”. Am J Surg Pathol. 28 (7): 914–20. PMID 15223962.
  14. ↑ Kurt E, Zheng PP, Hop WC, van der Weiden M, Bol M, van den Bent MJ; et al. (2006). “Identification of relevant prognostic histopathologic features in 69 intracranial ependymomas, excluding myxopapillary ependymomas and subependymomas”. Cancer. 106 (2): 388–95. doi:10.1002/cncr.21608. PMID 16342252.

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ahmad Al Maradni, M.D. [2]