Intracranial Subependymoma: A SEER Analysis 2004-2013.

BACKGROUND: Subependymomas are rare, slow-growing, benign tumors. Because they are scarce, knowledge relating to survival remains lacking. Consequently, we explore the SEER database to evaluate prognostic and treatment factors associated with intracranial subependymoma.

METHODS: With the SEER-18 registry database, information from all patients with intracranial subependymoma diagnosed during 2004-2013 were extracted, including age, sex, race, occurrence of surgery, extent of primary surgery, receipt of radiation, tumor size, and follow-up data. Age-adjusted incidence rates, overall survival, and cause-specific survival were calculated. Cox proportional hazards model was used for both univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS: Four hundred sixty-six cases were identified. The overall incidence of intracranial subependymoma is 0.055 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.06). Through multivariate analysis, age <40 years (hazard ratio [HR], 0.21; P = 0.03), female sex (HR, 0.34; P = 0.03), location within ventricles or near brainstem (HR, 0.49; P = 0.04), and occurrence of surgery (HR, 0.50; P = 0.02) were significant independent positive prognostic factors. Receipt of radiation did not show a significant relationship.

CONCLUSION: Clinical factors such as younger age, female sex, and location within ventricles or near brain stem demonstrated positive relationship with overall survival. For treatment options, surgery remains a mainstay option. No support for radiation therapy was identified.