Long-term follow-up and quality of life in patients with intracranial germinoma

Intracranial germinomas are fairly rare tumors occurring mostly in children or young adults with a comparatively good prognosis. Radiation is the preferred treatment of choice for this diagnosis. It has been thoroughly studied to what extent radiation doses and fields can be limited in order to avoid side effects in these young patients. The role of chemotherapy remains unclear, whereas surgery is limited to biopsy for proof of histology. Regarding the good overall survival rate, quality of life is a significant aspect to consider in these patients. We present a single institution analysis of patients with intracranial germinoma and analyze the long-term outcome with special regard to quality of life. Thirty-three patients with intracranial germinomas were analyzed by chart review, telephone interview, and neurological assessment. Additionally, a survey on quality of life was performed. The 10-year overall survival rate was 82.1 % at a mean follow-up of 141 (22–306) months. Three quarters (76 %) of the patients reached a favorable neurological outcome on the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS 0–2). However, the self-reported quality of life was significantly worse in germinoma patients compared with a healthy control group ( p