Neurosurgery
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Ability to thrive and time-to-recurrence following treatment are important parameters to assess in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), given its dismal prognosis. Though there is an ongoing debate whether it can be considered an appropriate surrogate endpoint for overall survival in clinical trials, progression-free survival (PFS) is routinely used for clinical decision-making. ⋯ A robust ML-based prediction model that identifies patients at high risk for early recurrence was successfully trained and internally validated. Considerable effort remains to integrate these predictions in a patient-centered care context.
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The interplay of various commercially available stents during coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms and their ultimate impact are subject to debate. ⋯ In stent-assisted coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms, midterm outcomes of LVIS and Atlas device groups were similar, despite theoretic LVIS superiority. Further randomized comparative studies are needed to confirm our findings.
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Spinal arachnoid webs are rarely described bands of thickened arachnoid tissue in the dorsal thoracic spine. Much is unknown regarding their origins, risk factors, natural history, and outcomes. ⋯ Spinal arachnoid webs present with thoracic myelopathy and back pain but can also present with upper extremity symptoms. Surgical intervention stabilizes or improves symptoms and is well received. Nonoperative patients do not spontaneously improve.
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Infiltrating gliomas comprise the most common group of primary intraparenchymal brain tumors and present a level of complexity which requires careful integration of histopathology and molecular diagnostics for optimal therapy. To this end, the fourth edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System (CNS) has been followed by a series of publications by cIMPACT-NOW (the Consortium to Inform Molecular and Practical Approaches to CNS Tumor Taxonomy) incorporating molecular signatures to propose updated diagnostic categories in anticipation of the upcoming fifth edition of CNS tumor classification. Integration of histopathology, immunophenotyping, and molecular findings is profoundly changing the practice of diagnostic surgical neuropathology and enabling a more personalized approach to treating patients with gliomas.