Pediatric intracranial ependymoma (EPN) is an important central nervous system neoplasm with a high recurrence rate; however, there are limited data on Chinese children with EPN. The present study explored the characteristics of pediatric EPN at a single center in China.

The study observed-

• Enrollment of 33 children (male to female ratio: 2:1).
• The average age of the patients as three years and nine months, and 42.4% were younger than three years.
• Neurological symptoms in only 1/3 of the patients.
• Six supratentorial and 27 infratentorial cases in relation to location.
• 8 Grade II, 20 Grade III, and 5 Grade II or III cases in terms of histologic grading
• Of the available follow-up data of 28 patients, 16 had tumor recurrence.
• No recurrence in 12 patients at the time of the last follow-up (April 1st, 2021).  
• A follow-up time of >36 months in six patients and a follow-up time of >5 years in three patients.
• Among 18 patients who underwent complete resection, 8 had tumor recurrence.
• After recurrence, eight patients underwent reoperation, and 4 received adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

This study describes the clinical features of Chinese children with EPN. It saw recurrences within 24 months of surgery in the majority of cases. Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy might promote disease control after resection at recurrence.

Lu Y, Li B, Li Z, et al. Pediatric intracranial ependymoma—a single-center clinical analysis and literature review. Pediatric Medicine. 2022. https://pm.amegroups.com/article/view/6712