Hemangiopericytoma in the central nervous system: treatment, pathological features, and long-term follow up in 38 patients

Abstract

The 5-year survival rate in patients with hemangiopericytoma of the CNS has improved at the authors' institution during the last 10 years. Although the reason for this is not entirely clear, the authors suspect that the improved treatment of patients with cancer, a 0% intraoperative mortality rate, and the use of radiosurgery in the treatment of recurrent disease all likely contribute. High-grade tumors recurred statistically significantly earlier than low-grade lesions. Current chemotherapies are ineffective in the treatment of hemangiopericytoma of the CNS.