诊断
用于诊断室管膜瘤的检查和程序包括：
- 神经系统检查。在神经系统检查期间，医疗护理专业人员将进行视力、听力、平衡性、协调性、力量及反射检查。其中一个或多个方面出现问题可提示肿瘤可能累及的大脑或脊髓部位。
- 影像学检查。影像学检查可以对身体进行成像操作。从而能够显示室管膜瘤的位置和大小。MRI 通常用于诊断脑肿瘤。MRI 可与专门化的 MRI 成像结合使用，例如磁共振血管造影。由于室管膜瘤可能出现在大脑和脊髓中，可能使用影像学检查来生成这两个部位的图像。
- 脑脊液检测。该程序称为腰椎穿刺或脊椎穿刺，需要在下背部脊柱的两块骨骼之间插入一根针。针头从脊髓周围抽取脑脊液。然后检测脑脊液中是否存在肿瘤细胞。
根据检测结果，医疗护理专业人员可能怀疑室管膜瘤并建议通过手术切除肿瘤。切除肿瘤后，将在实验室中对肿瘤细胞进行检测以确认诊断结果。一些特殊检测可帮助医疗护理团队了解肿瘤中包含的细胞类型。医疗护理团队可使用此信息为您制定治疗决策。
治疗
室管膜瘤的治疗方案包括：
手术
脑外科医生（神经外科医生）会设法切除尽可能多的室管膜瘤。目标是切除整个肿瘤。有时室管膜瘤位于敏感脑组织或脊柱组织附近，这样做太过危险。
如果外科手术切除了整个肿瘤，则可能无需进行其他治疗。如有肿瘤残留，神经外科医生可能建议实施另一项手术，尝试切除残余的肿瘤。如果是癌性肿瘤或无法切除全部肿瘤，则可能建议实施放射疗法等其他治疗。
放射疗法
放射疗法利用强大的能量束来杀死肿瘤细胞。能量可能来自 X 线、质子或其他来源。在放射疗法的实施过程中，机器将能量束照向患者身体的特定部位，以杀死该处的癌细胞。
手术后可能建议实施放射疗法，以帮助预防癌性肿瘤复发。如果神经外科医生无法完全切除肿瘤，也可能会建议实施放射疗法。
某些特殊类型的放射疗法有助于将放射治疗聚焦在肿瘤细胞上。这些特殊类型的放射疗法疗可以降低对周边健康细胞造成损伤的风险。例如，适形放射疗法、调强放射治疗和质子疗法。
放射外科治疗
立体定向放射外科治疗是一种高强度的放射治疗。它从多个角度将辐射束对准肿瘤。单束辐射束并不太强。但多束辐射束交汇之处会接收到极大的放射剂量，从而杀死肿瘤细胞。
化疗
化疗使用药物杀死肿瘤细胞。化疗并不常用于治疗室管膜瘤。在某些情况下，例如尽管进行了手术和放疗，但肿瘤又复发时，可以选择化疗。
靶向治疗
靶向治疗是指使用药物来攻击肿瘤细胞中的特定化学物质。通过阻断这些化学物质，靶向治疗可杀死肿瘤细胞。对于治疗后复发的室管膜瘤，治疗方案可包括靶向治疗。
临床试验
临床试验旨在对新疗法开展研究。这些研究为最新治疗方案提供临床机会，但尚不清楚副作用的风险。如果您对参加临床试验感兴趣，请咨询您的医护团队。
临床试验
探索 Mayo Clinic 的研究 测试新的治疗、干预与检查方法，旨在预防、检测、治疗或控制这种疾病。
准备您的预约
Make an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional if you have any symptoms that worry you.
If your healthcare professional thinks you might have ependymoma, you may be referred to a doctor who specializes in diseases of the nervous system, called a neurologist. If a cancer diagnosis is made, you also may be referred to a doctor who specializes in treating cancer, called an oncologist.
Because appointments can be brief, it's a good idea to be prepared. Here's some information to help you get ready.
What you can do
- Be aware of anything you need to do ahead of time. At the time you make the appointment, be sure to ask if there's anything you need to do in advance, such as restrict your diet.
- Write down symptoms you have, including any that may not seem related to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Write down important personal information, including major stresses or recent life changes.
- Make a list of all medicines, vitamins or supplements you're taking and the doses.
- Take a family member or friend along. Sometimes it can be very hard to remember all the information provided during an appointment. Someone who goes with you may remember something that you missed or forgot.
- Write down questions to ask your healthcare team.
Your time with your healthcare team is limited, so preparing a list of questions can help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out. For ependymoma, some basic questions to ask include:
- Do I have an ependymoma?
- Is my ependymoma cancerous?
- What is the grade of my ependymoma?
- Has my ependymoma spread to other parts of my body?
- Will I need more tests?
- What are the treatment options?
- How much does each treatment increase my chances of a cure or prolong my life?
- What are the potential side effects of each treatment?
- How will each treatment affect my daily life?
- Is there one treatment option you believe is the best?
- What would you recommend to a friend or family member in my situation?
- Should I see a specialist?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take with me? What websites do you recommend?
- What will determine whether I should plan for a follow-up visit?
Don't hesitate to ask other questions.
What to expect from your doctor
Be prepared to answer questions, such as:
- When did your symptoms begin?
- Have your symptoms been continuous or occasional?
- How severe are your symptoms?
- What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
- What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?