Table 1.
Patient Characteristics
| Value or No | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | All Patients | No IT Chemo | ≥3 IT Chemo | P Value |
| No. of patients | 58 | 24 | 26 | |
| Median age at diagnosis (yrs ± SD) | 42.8 ± 12.5 | 41.8 ± 12.9 | 43.2 ± 13.2 | n.s. |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 34 (59%) | 17 (71%) | 14 (54%) | |
| Male | 24 (41%) | 7 (29%) | 12 (46%) | |
| Primary cancer histology | ||||
| Melanoma | 9 (38%) | 9 (35%) | n.s. | |
| Breast cancer | 8 (33%) | 10 (38% | n.s. | |
| Ductal | 5 (21.0%) | 8 (31%) | n.s. | |
| Lobar | 3 (13%) | 2 (8%) | n.s. | |
| Ventriculomegaly present | 34 (59%) | 9 (38%) | 15 (58%) | n.s. |
| Positive CSF cytology | 54 (93%) | 20 (83%) | 16 (62%) | n.s. |
| Median opening pressure, cm H2O ± SD | 33.4 ± 11.7 | 36.8 ± 14.5 | 35.2 ± 10.5 | n.s. |
| Karnofsky Performance Status Score | 77.1 ± 12.7 | 83.9 ± 13.0 | n.s. | |
| Radiation therapy administered | 9 (38%) | 12 (46%) | n.s. | |
| Systemic progression at time of procedure | 4 (17%) | 6 (23%) | n.s. | |
| Median time from cancer dx to LMD diagnosis (mo ± SD) | 41.0 ± 32.0 | 50.2 ± 70.0 | n.s. | |
| Median time from LMD dx to shunt procedure (mo ± SD) | 1.3 ± 1.7 | 2.9 ± 3.6 | 0.04 | |
| Median OS from cancer diagnosis (mo ± SD) | 12.7 ± 4.2 | 42.2 ± 6.7 | 69.7 ± 14.7 | 0.08 |
| Median OS from LMD diagnosis (mo ± SD) | 12.7 ± 4.2 | 3.8 ± 0.7 | 17.9 ± 8.9 | 0.01 |
| Median OS from shunt procedure (mo ± SD) | 8.9 ± 3.7 | 2.8 ± 0.7 | 11.7 ± 3.6 | 0.02 |
IT, intrathecal therapy; SD, standard deviation; n.s., not significant (p > 0.05); CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; OS, overall survival; LMD, leptomeningeal disease.