1989 Volume 29 Issue 9 Pages 825-829
Pineal parenchymal tumors are so rare that their responses to radiation and/or chemotherapy are not well known. Two cases of pineocytoma, which responded well to radiation therapy and chemotherapy, respectively, are reported. A 45-year-old female received radiation therapy in a total dose of 5000 rads to the tumor. Three months after the completion of therapy, computed tomography (CT) showed complete disappearance of the tumor, and she remains well as of 1 year after treatment. The second patient, a 6-year-old girl, underwent four cycles of intravenous infusion of ACNU (25 mg) over 10 months. CT demonstrated complete disappearance of the tumor and, 18 months postoperatively, there was no evidence of tumor recurrence. The results in these two cases indicate that postoperative radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy should be strongly considered for patients with pineal parenchymal tumors.
