Pineal region tumours of childhood.

In Germany, the relative frequency of pineal region tumours seems to be much higher than hitherto assumed. At the University Hospital Hamburg, from 1980-1985 17 children with pineal region tumours were encountered amongst 102 children with CNS tumours. Two-cell-type germinoma is the most frequent pineal region tumour. Cerebrospinal fluid cytology is highly successful in identifying this germ cell tumour. Surgical removal has become a reasonably safe procedure in the treatment of pineal region tumours and was successful in all 10 cases so treated. In addition, our patients with two-cell-type germinomas received craniospinal axis radiation. All children, treated by both surgical removal and craniospinal axis radiation are so far relapse-free and are functioning on a pretreatment level.