Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32765890›Full record

ArticleNeuro-oncology practice2020

The effect of adjuvant radiotherapy on overall survival in adults with intracranial ependymoma.

Roshan S Prabhu, Christopher D Corso, Matthew C Ward, John H Heinzerling, Reshika Dhakal, Zachary S Buchwald, Kirtesh R Patel, Anthony L Asher, Ashley L Sumrall, Stuart H Burri

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Article in Neuro-oncology practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Roshan S PrabhuLevine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC.
Christopher D CorsoLevine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC.
Matthew C WardLevine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC.
John H HeinzerlingLevine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC.
Reshika DhakalLevine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC.
Zachary S BuchwaldWinship Cancer Institute and Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
Kirtesh R PatelKaiser Permanente, Atlanta, GA.
Anthony L AsherCarolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates, Charlotte, NC.
Ashley L SumrallLevine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC.
Stuart H BurriLevine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdult intracranial ependymoma is rare, and the role for adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) is not well defined.

methodsWe used the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to select adults (age ≥ 22 years) with grade 2 to 3 intracranial ependymoma status postresection between 2004 and 2015 and treated with adjuvant RT vs observation. Four cohorts were generated: (1) all patients, (2) grade 2 only, (3) grade 2 status post-subtotal resection only, (4) and grade 3 only. The association between adjuvant RT use and overall survival (OS) was assessed using multivariate Cox and propensity score matched analyses.

resultsA total of 1787 patients were included in cohort 1, of which 856 patients (48%) received adjuvant RT and 931 (52%) were observed. Approximately two-thirds of tumors were supratentorial and 80% were grade 2. Cohorts 2, 3, and 4 included 1471, 345, and 316 patients, respectively. There was no significant association between adjuvant RT use and OS in multivariate or propensity score matched analysis in any of the cohorts. Older age, male sex, urban location, higher comorbidity score, earlier year of diagnosis, and grade 3 were associated with increased risk of death.

conclusionsThis large NCDB study did not demonstrate a significant association between adjuvant RT use and OS for adults with intracranial ependymoma, including for patients with grade 2 ependymoma status post-subtotal resection. The conflicting results regarding the efficacy of adjuvant RT in this patient population highlight the need for high-quality studies to guide therapy recommendations in adult ependymoma.

Indexed as

adultbrainependymomaintracranialradiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID32765890
PMCPMC7393282

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.