Purpose: Until recently, postoperative adjuvant treatment for intracranial teratomas has remained controversial because of the rarity of the tumors and the heterogeneity of histologic types. To define optimal therapy modalities, we retrospectively analyzed the treatment of patients with intracranial teratomas.
Methods: Between 1979 and 2007, 31 patients with intracranial teratomas were treated at our institution. The median age of the 31 patients was 14.8 years. The median follow-up time was 72.7 months (range 11 approximately 291 months). Perioperative radiochemotherapy was done in 19 patients. Proper chemotherapy regimens were followed, such as PE (cisplatin and VP-16), PVB (cisplatin, VP-16, and bleomycin), ICE (carboplatin, VP-16, and ifosfamide), and NGGCT (etoposide, carboplatin, bleomycin, and cyclophosphamide with mesna).
Results: Eight patients experienced recurrence, and a second operation was carried out in six patients. Fifteen patients survived for more than 5 years without recurrence, irrespective of having received adjuvant therapies. The 5-year survival rate of the 31 patients was 74%.
Conclusion: Treatment of intracranial teratomas is very difficult because of the heterogeneity of the tumor cells from totipotent origins. Accurate histological diagnosis of teratoma subtypes is the most important factor for adequate treatment, and proper therapeutic protocols are needed to cure teratomas.