title: Combination chemotherapy (cisplatin, vinblastin) and low-dose irradiation in the treatment of pineal parenchymal cell tumors.
abstract: Pineal parenchymal cell tumors (PPCTs) with or without metastasis into the lumbar region by way of the cerebrospinal fluid were treated successfully with combination chemotherapy using cisplatin, vinblastin, and bleomycin (PVB) or cisplatin and vinblastin (PV) and low-dose irradiation (25 approximately 30 Gy). Our series included a case of pineoblastoma, two cases of mixed pinocytoma/pineoblastoma, and a case of pineocytoma, compared to which the data held by the All Japan Brain Tumor Registry (AJBTR) included information on 47 cases pineocytoma and 20 of pineoblastoma. All our patients have survived, with scores of 90% or over on Karnofsky's performance scale, for 2-12 years of follow-up so far; however, the 5-year survival rates of the patients recorded by AJBTR were 83% for pineocytoma treated with radiation and 43% without radiation; and 42% for pineoblastoma treated with radiation and 50% without radiation. Incomplete or varied chemotherapeutic regimens used in different medical centers to treat PPCTs precluded an evaluation such as was made by AJBTR. Our results suggested that combination chemotherapy with low-dose back-up radiotherapy may be the treatment of choice for primary or recurrent disease with or without dissemination in PPCTs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku City, Japan. kurisaka@kochi-ms.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurisaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arisawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seike
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wakiguchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurashige
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010870:Pineal Gland; D010871:Pinealoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014747:Vinblastine / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D014747:Vinblastine; D002945:Cisplatin