title: Predictors of long-term survival following postoperative radiochemotherapy for pathologically confirmed suprasellar germ cell tumors.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictors of long-term survival following postoperative therapy for suprasellar germ cell tumors (GCTs). A total of 23 patients with pathologically confirmed suprasellar GCTs were reviewed between April, 1987 and October, 2008. The predictors were identified with a univariate Cox proportional hazards model and the results were used to group patients according to outcome. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates for the good- and poor-prognosis two groups were estimated with Kaplan-Meier analysis, with log-rank tests used to assess differences between the groups. The OS rate for all patients was 82.6% at 5 and 72.9% at 10 years. Lesion size (2-4 vs. >4 cm) and pathological type (pure germinoma vs. mixed GCT) were the only significant predictors of OS (P<0.05). The OS rate for the good-prognosis group was 92.9% at both 5 and 10 years, whereas the corresponding rates for the poor-prognosis group were 66.7 and 40.0%, respectively (P=0.020). The PFS rate for the good-prognosis group was 92.9% at 5 and 85.7% at 10 years, whereas the corresponding PFS rates for the poor-prognosis group were 44.4 and 33.3%, respectively (P=0.007). Lesion size and histology predicted outcome following postoperative therapy for suprasellar GCT. Therefore, pathological diagnosis is recommended whenever possible, as histology may dictate the choice of treatment.
authors: Departments of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Huo
authors: Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Xia
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors: Pamela K
authors: PK
authors: Allen
authors: Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Longyun
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Yuping
authors: Y
authors: Liao
authors: Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Zaide
authors: Z
authors: Han
authors: Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Liangfang
authors: L
authors: Shen
authors: Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Qingsong
authors: Q
authors: Tu
authors: Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Meizuo
authors: M
authors: Zhong
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Zhuang
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Institute of Skull Base Surgery and Neurooncology, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China.
authors: Jidong
authors: J
authors: Hong
keywords: predictors of outcome; radiochemotherapy; suprasellar germ cell tumor; surgery; survival rate