Muhammad Anwar, Naveed Ashraf, Muhammad Khalid, Javed Majld Mian.
Prophylactic Spinal Radiotherapy in Pineal Tumors.
Pak J Neurol Jan ;5(1):21-6.

It has long been acknowledged that radiation is extremely effective in large percentage of patients with pineal tumors. However there is no uniform agreement as to what constitutes "Standard Radiotherapy" for these tumors. There is a major controversy that whether routine spinal irradiation should be done. A retrospective study of pineal region tumors was conducted in the department of Neurosurgery Lahore General Hospital Lahore. Fifteen patients were treated from March 1994 to March 1999 over a period of 5 years. In ten patients direct attack on the tumor was made for biopsy / removal of tumor, while radiotherapy was given without tissue diagnosis in five patients. Four patients died due to operative complications. Craniospinal radiation was given in ten patients and there was no spinal metastasis. One patient had only cranial radiation, three months later he developed spinal metastasis and expired. We feel that spinal radiation should be given in routine in pineal tumors to prevent spinal metastasis.

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