Pineal cysts: Does anyone need long-term follow up?

Abstract Pineal cysts are a common incidental finding on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which frequently prompts referral to neurosurgery. Currently, a management algorithm for patients without hydrocephalus, Parinaud’s syndrome, or pineal apoplexy is lacking. We aimed to identify predictive factors of pineal cyst volume change and surgical intervention by performing retrospective chart review of 98 patients between 2005 and 2018 diagnosed with pineal cysts gleaned from our Neurosurgery clinical databases. We included patients whose initial and follow-up MRIs were available in our institutional radiology system or whose surgical pathology confirmed pineal cyst after evaluation with an initial MRI. Patients’ medical records were queried for presenting symptoms, demographic, management, and pineal cyst measurements. Three dimensions (anterior-posterior, rostral-caudal, transverse) of pineal cyst size were measured and converted to cyst volume (cm3) for analysis. Fifty-five patients (mean age 26.09 ± 14.7 years) with pineal cysts met study criteria. Follow-up ranged from 4 months to 10 years. The indications for MR imaging included headache (81.8%) and vision problems (42%). Forty-eight patients who were observed had a mean volume change of 0.051 ± 0.862 cm [3] and median volume change of 0 cm [3] Patient symptoms, referral source, and age were not associated with changes in volume on follow-up. Aggregated number of symptoms did not differ between operative and observation patients. (p = 0.29). Pineal cyst volumes tend to remain stable over serial MR images, do not reliably correlate with symptoms, and do not typically require long-term follow-up.