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Tumors of the Central Nervous System, Volume 5 pp 203–209Cite as

Pilomyxoid Astrocytomas: Chemotherapy

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Part of the book series: Tumors of the Central Nervous System ((TCNS,volume 5))

Abstract

Pilomyxoid astrocytoma (PMA) is a variant of pilocytic astrocytoma (PA). However, PMA shows a higher rate of recurrence and dissemination in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than does pilocytic astrocytoma (PA). PMA occurs predominantly in the hypothalamic/chiasmic region, and thus it is usually treated with chemotherapy following surgical biopsy. We discuss the treatment of PMA. Materials and Methods: Between 1992 and 2009, the authors treated 5 patients, 2 males and 3 females, ranging in age from 3 months to 11 years. Results: Three patients showed CSF dissemination on the initial radiographic examination. All patients received chemotherapy; the most commonly used drug combination was that of cisplatin (CDDP)/carboplatin (CBDCA) and etoposide. If these drugs were unsuccessful, they were changed, or other drugs were added to the combination. After chemotherapy, four patients showed remarkable tumor regression. Nevertheless, one patient died due to tumor progression 22 months after initial diagnosis. Conclusion: Although our series comprised a small number of patients, treatment of PMA with chemotherapy appeared to be of value. Even if initial chemotherapy is ineffective, we recommend continued CDDP/CBDCA-based chemotherapy with new drug combinations.

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Acknowledgement

This article was revised from our previously published paper: Tsugu H, Oshiro S, Yanai F, Komatsu F, Abe H, Fukushima T, Nomura Y, Matsumoto S, Nabeshima K, Takano K, Utsunomiya H. Management of pilomyxoid astrocytomas: our experience. Anticancer Res 29: 919–926, 2009.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Fukuoka University Faculty of Medicine, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 814-0180, Japan

    Hitoshi Tsugu, Shinya Oshiro, Fuminari Komatsu, Hiroshi Abe, Takeo Fukushima, Tooru Inoue, Fumio Yanai & Yuko Nomura

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  1. Hitoshi Tsugu
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  2. Shinya Oshiro
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  3. Fuminari Komatsu
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  4. Hiroshi Abe
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  7. Fumio Yanai
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  8. Yuko Nomura
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Correspondence to Hitoshi Tsugu .

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  1. , Kean University, Room 213, Library building, Morris Avenue 1000, Union, 07083, New Jersey, USA

    M.A. Hayat

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Tsugu, H. et al. (2012). Pilomyxoid Astrocytomas: Chemotherapy. In: Hayat, M. (eds) Tumors of the Central Nervous System, Volume 5. Tumors of the Central Nervous System, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2019-0_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2019-0_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-2018-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-2019-0

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