Butterfly Tumor of the Corpus Callosum: Clinical Characteristics, Diagnosis, and Survival Analysis

BACKGROUND: The pathologies implicate the bilateral corpus callosum that builds the butterfly pattern on axial view. These tumors have seldom been investigated for both clinical manifestations and outcome. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of the butterfly tumor and to identify the predictive factors associated with survival outcome. METHODS: A retrospective study of 50 butterfly tumor was conducted between 2003 and 2016. The clinical characteristics, imaging, and outcome were assessed for the purpose of descriptive analysis. Using the Kaplan–Meier method, the median overall survival of the butterfly tumor was determined. Furthermore, the Cox proportional hazard regression was the estimated hazard ratio for death. RESULTS: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was common of butterfly lesions. The mortality rate was 78% and overall median survival time was 16.03 months (95% confidence interval: 14.0–19.8). Using Cox proportional hazards regression, the independent prognostic factors were Karnofsky Performance Status score ≤70, splenium involvement, and butterfly glioblastoma. CONCLUSIONS: The butterfly tumor is a poor prognostic disease compared with each histology subgroup. Further molecular investigation is preferable to explore genetic variations associated with these tumors.