SURG-17. CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND OUTCOMES OF EPILEPSY-RELATED BRAIN TUMOR IN CHILDREN

OBJECTIVE: Epilepsy is one of the earliest symptoms in pediatric brain tumor. Gross total resection (GTR) of the tumor does not necessarily achieve seizure free, therefore it is controversial whether surrounding epileptic foci should be resected at the initial surgery. The aims of this study are to report clinical characteristics and outcome of pediatric epilepsy-related brain tumor (ERBT) and to discuss treatment strategy. METHODS: Subjects were children less than 18 years old who underwent surgery for ERBT. Patients in whom epilepsy had been controlled before surgery were excluded. Data were collected from medical record and retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Twenty-one children (8 boys and 13 girls) were analyzed in this study. The mean age at surgery was 6.8 years. Tumor was astrocytic tumor in 10, gangliogioma in 4 and dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor in 3. Intracranial subdural electrodes were placed prior to tumor resection in 5 cases. GTR was achieved in 14 (67%). Seizure free was achieved in 15 (71.4%). GTR was significantly associated with seizure free (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: In most of ERBT, seizure free can be achieved by lesionectomy alone. However, the resection of surrounding epileptic foci is required in some cases. Detailed examinations to detect the epileptic foci should be performed in ERBT, particularly in case of drug-resistant intractable epilepsy.