Ependymoma | |
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Micrograph of an ependymoma. H&E stain. | |
Specialty | Neuro-oncology |
Prognosis | Five-year survival rate: 83.9%[1] |
Frequency | 200 new cases each year in the United States[2] |
An ependymoma is a tumor that arises from the ependyma, a tissue of the central nervous system. Usually, in pediatric cases the location is intracranial, while in adults it is spinal. The common location of intracranial ependymomas is the floor of the fourth ventricle. Rarely, ependymomas can occur in the pelvic cavity.
Syringomyelia can be caused by an ependymoma. Ependymomas are also seen with neurofibromatosis type II.