In this retrospective study we evaluated the efficacy of interstitial
brachytherapy (IBT) using (125)
Iodine seeds ((125)I) for
intracranial ganglioglioma WHO I. Between October 1994 and March 2010, eight patients (m/f = 5/3, median age 30.4 years, age range 7-42.5 years) with
intracranial ganglioglioma WHO I were treated with IBT using stereotactically implanted (125)I seeds. The median follow-up time was 41.5 months (range 16.7-140.1 months). Prior to interstitial
brachytherapy one patient underwent microsurgical resection for three times; seven patients were treated with IBT primarily. In all patients we implanted the (125)I seeds stereotactically guided. The cumulative
tumor surface dose ranged between 50 and 65 Gy (permanent implantation) and the median
tumor volume was 5.6 ml (range 0.9-26 ml). After
brachytherapy, follow-up MR imaging revealed complete remission in one patient, partial remission in three and stable disease in the remaining four patients. Five of eight patients presented with
seizures were either seizure-free (1/5) or improved (4/5). Temporary treatment-related morbidity occurred in one patient only (
headache,
nausea/
vomiting) and resolved completely under
steroid medication after 4 weeks. No treatment-related mortality was observed. This study indicates that interstitial
brachytherapy for the treatment of
intracranial ganglioglioma WHO I is safe and provides a high rate of local
tumor control. Due to the limited number of cases, it is not possible to conduct a rigorous statistical evaluation. Thus, larger numbers of patients are required.