Optic pathway glioma: outcome and prognostic factors in a surgical series

Abstract

OBJECTS: The goals of this study were to evaluate the surgical outcomes of optic pathway glioma (OPG) and to analyze the prognostic factors related to the progression-free survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on 33 patients who underwent surgery for OPG; these included 15 male and 18 female patients with a mean age of 8.3 years. The mean duration of follow-up was 52 months. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The preservation rate of ipsilateral vision was 25%, while that of contralateral vision was 83% (P<0.001). There was no remarkable endocrine improvement after surgery. The overall and progression-free survival rates at 5 years were 93.6 and 52.4%, respectively. In our study, the predictors for tumor progression were children younger than 5 years of age (p=0.023) and of female gender (p=0.022). Because of the variable course of OPG, treatment policy should be optimized individually according to patient's status.