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Overview for management

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Intracranial Germ Cell Tumors

Abstract

Each subcategory of GCTs is comprised of neoplasms that are relatively rare, which makes it difficult to choose an appropriate therapeutic regimen. Moreover, the similarity of the clinical presentations and radiological findings for these tumors makes selection of the management protocol even more complex. The degree to which radiation therapy should be combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of each type of GCTs, therefore, has been debatable. Recently the introduction of chemotherapy has allowed for a reduction in the conventional dose and volume of radiation used in the treatment of patients with germinoma without compromising disease control [3,6,44] (see chapter of Chemotherapy). Aggressive combination therapy may serve to improve the poor survival rates of patients with highly malignant GCTs. Neurosurgical care, as the primary mode of therapy, should be planned for each GCT while keeping in mind the known efficacy of postsurgical adjuvant therapy and the prognosis associated with its use [44].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Neurosurgery and Radiology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

    Y. Sawamura & H. Shirato

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  1. Y. Sawamura
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  2. H. Shirato
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

    Yutaka Sawamura

  2. Department of Radiology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

    Hiroki Shirato

  3. Service de Neurochirurgie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Nicolas de Tribolet

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© 1998 Springer-Verlag/Wien

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Sawamura, Y., Shirato, H. (1998). Overview for management. In: Sawamura, Y., Shirato, H., de Tribolet, N. (eds) Intracranial Germ Cell Tumors. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-6821-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-6821-9_9

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-7414-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-6821-9

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