Review of seizure outcomes after surgical resection of dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors

Dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNETs) are rare tumors that present with seizures in the majority of cases. We report the results of a review of seizure freedom rates following resection of these benign lesions. We searched the English literature using PubMed for articles presenting seizure freedom rates for DNETs as a unique entity. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and operative variables were assessed across selected studies. Twenty-nine articles were included in the analysis. The mean age at surgery across studies was a median of 18 years (interquartile range 11–25 years). The mean duration of epilepsy pre-operatively was a median 7 years (interquartile range 3–11 years). Median reported gross-total resection rate across studies was 79 % (interquartile range 62–92 %). Authors variously chose lesionectomy or extended lesionectomy operations within and across studies. The median seizure freedom rate was 86 % (interquartile range 77–93 %) with only one study reporting fewer than 60 % of patients seizure free. Seizure outcomes were either reported at 1 year of follow-up or at last follow-up, which occurred at a median of 4 years (interquartile range 3–7 years). The number of seizure-free patients who discontinued anti-epileptic drugs varied widely from zero to all patients. Greater extent of resection was associated with seizure freedom in four studies.