• Michael Safaee, Michael C Oh, Joseph M Kim, Derick Aranda, Phiroz E Tarapore, Tene A Cage, Nalin Gupta, and Andrew T Parsa.
• Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94117, USA.
• Childs Nerv Syst. 2013 Nov 1; 29 (11): 2057-64.

PurposePrognostic factors affecting outcomes in pediatric spinal cord ependymomas are limited. We sought to investigate potential associations between extent of resection and histologic grade on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).MethodsA comprehensive literature search was performed to identify pediatric patients who underwent surgical resection for spinal cord ependymomas. Only manuscripts with clearly defined age, tumor grade, extent of resection, and clinical follow-up were included.ResultsA total of 80 patients were identified with a histologic distribution as follows: 36 % myxopapillary (grade I), 54 % classical (grade II), and 10 % anaplastic (grade III). There was no association between tumor grade and PFS. The only factor associated with improved PFS was gross total resection (GTR), which remained significant in a multivariate model (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.248, p = 0.022). Moreover, older age (HR = 0.818, p = 0.026), GTR (HR = 0.042, p = 0.013), and anaplastic grade (HR = 19.847, p = 0.008) demonstrated a significant association with OS in a multivariate model.ConclusionsAmong pediatric patients with spinal cord ependymomas, PFS did not differ across histologic grades but was prolonged among patients who underwent GTR. Age, extent of resection, and tumor grade were all significantly associated with survival.

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