title: Long-term life expectancy for children with ependymoma and medulloblastoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is a paucity of long-term follow-up data for children with intracranial ependymoma (IE) and medulloblastoma (MB). What happens to these children 20, 30, or 40 years after diagnosis? Do they have potential for a normal lifespan? The purpose of this study was to ascertain the long-term survival potential in children with MB or IE who have survived 5 years from diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was conducted using the SEER Program. Children (ages 0-19 years) from 1973 to 2011 with a diagnosis of MB or IE were identified. A cohort was created of potentially cured patients who survived 5 years from diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier estimates were utilized to analyze long-term survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 876 patients with MB and 474 patients with IE who were alive 5 years from diagnosis. Patients with MB had a 30-year overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of 70.2% and 80.1%, respectively. Patients with IE had a 30-year OS and CSS of 57.3% and 68.8%, respectively. When comparing MB with IE, MB had improved CSS (P = 0.04) and trended toward increased OS (P = 0.10).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A significant number of deaths due to disease occur for several decades after treatment for both IE and MB. Despite this, the potential for long-term survival exists in 5-year survivors of both histologies. If alive at 5 years from diagnosis, patients with MB tend to have a lower risk of death from disease compared to those with IE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Huntsman Cancer Hospital, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Jonathan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Frandsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Huntsman Cancer Hospital, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Bollo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Huntsman Cancer Hospital, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Dennis C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Shrieve
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Huntsman Cancer Hospital, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Matthew M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Poppe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004806:Ependymoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D015996:Survival Rate; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: brain tumors; pediatric hematology/oncology; radiation therapy