Stereotactic Radiosurgery of a Papillary Tumor of the Pineal Region: Case Report and Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Papillary tumors of the pineal region are a recently described very rare group of primary CNS neoplasms. Because of their rarity, it has proven to be difficult to establish the optimal therapy. Furthermore, microsurgical resection of pineal region neoplasms is associated with quite a high morbidity. We report the first case of stereotactic radiosurgery of a histologically confirmed papillary tumor of the pineal region. METHODS: After establishing the diagnosis by stereotactic biopsy, the patient was treated with stereotactic radiosurgery in a Gamma Knife unit. RESULTS: Five years after treatment, the tumor size is still decreasing, showing a good response to the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Stereotactic radiosurgery should be considered a treatment option in these surgically challenging tumors.