Intracranial hemangiopericytoma - Our experience in 30 years: A series of 43 cases and review of the literature

Objective Meningeal hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a rare, aggressive central nervous system tumor that tends to invade locally and to metastasize, and has a high rate of recurrence. Methods This study presents a retrospective review of patients managed for intracranial HPC at Rome University Hospital. Results A total of 43 patients with intracranial HPC were treated from 1980 to 2010. Treatment and follow-up information was available for analysis on 36 patients. The median survival for all patients was 83.5 months after date of diagnosis, with 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year survival rates of 100%, 94.4%, and 72.2%, respectively. Eighteen patients (41.86%) had HPC recurrence. The median time until recurrence was 72.24 months, with 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year progression-free survival rates of 98%, 51%, and 29%, respectively. Five patients (11.62%) developed extracranial metastasis. Patients undergoing any form of adjuvant radiation treatment, including external beam radiotherapy, Gamma Knife radiosurgery, and/or proton beam therapy, had no longer median overall survival (OS) (178 vs. 154 months, respectively; P =.2); but did have a significantly improved recurrence-free interval (108 vs. 64 months; P =.04) compared with patients who did not undergo radiation treatment. Tumor characteristics associated with earlier recurrence included size ≥7 cm (log-rank, P