ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the best operation time and approach, and the improvement mechanism of radiation encephalopathy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods The data of 9 patients with radiation encephalopathy after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma who admitted to our hospital from January 1996 and December 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. The neurological manifestations, imaging, neurosurgery strategies and pathological features of the patients were collected and analyzed. The efficacy and the follow-up results were compared. Results MRI showed such typical encephalopathy as severe edema or necrosis in the temporal lobe in most patients adopted radiotherapy; edema and necrosis in the brain tissues, hyaline degeneration and blocking in the small blood vessels were showed by pathologic examination. Some patients manifested as having unilateral edema or liquefactive necrosis in the brain with marked mass effect. After the surgery, the edema in the patients' brain was alleviated; 8 patients got improvement and discharged from the hospital in 2-3 weeks with stable vital signs. Eight patients achieved complete remission of headache with 1 having mild headache. Conclusion When medical treatment is not effective in patients who developed edema or liquefactive necrosis after radiotherapy, neurosurgery is a good therapeutic strategy, which can alleviate the symptoms, help clarify the diagnosis and guide the follow-up treatment.