Socioeconomic influences on survival outcome in idh-wildtype glioma patients: examining the role of age, education, and lifestyle factors.

Background: Socioeconomic factors influence survival in different cancer types. This study aimed to assess the impact of various socioeconomic factors, including education, marital status, lifestyle, and social network, on survival in patients with Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wildtype gliomas.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 309 adult patients with de novo diagnosed IDH wildtype gliomas who underwent surgical treatment at our institution between 2014 and 2022.

Performance and adaptability comparison between medical students and experienced neurosurgeons using a robotic exoscope with a head-mounted display.

Integrating robotics in the operating room (OR) may revolutionize surgical practice by providing surgeons with enhanced precision, dexterity, and stability. Traditional operative microscopes often lead to significant musculoskeletal discomfort among surgeons due to prolonged, unergonomic postures. The advent of a robot-controlled exoscope (RS) offers a promising solution to these ergonomic challenges by enabling hands-free operation through head gestures.

Practice Variation in Perioperative Dexamethasone Use and Outcomes in Brain Metastasis Resection.

Importance: Variations in perioperative dexamethasone dosing are common in brain metastasis resection, but their impact on patient outcomes remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the association between perioperative dexamethasone dosing and patient outcomes, focusing on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective multicenter comparative effectiveness study used data collected from January 2010 to December 2023.

Epilepsy as primary tumor manifestation correlates with patient status, age, and tumor volume but not with survival in elderly glioblastoma patients: a retrospective bicentric analysis.

Assessment of the potential impact of epilepsy as primary tumor manifestation on survival in elderly glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Two academic neurosurgical centers retrospectively analyzed all GBM patients aged 65 years and older with de-novo tumors, who underwent surgery between 2006 and 2021. Epidemiological, histopathological, imaging and survival data were obtained from patients' electronic charts, and screened for the presence of epilepsy preoperatively and during follow-up.

Frailty indices predict mortality, complications and functional improvements in supratentorial meningioma patients over 80 years of age.

Purpose: To assess whether the Modified 5 (mFI-5) and 11 (mFI-11) Factor Frailty Indices associate with postoperative mortality, complications, and functional benefit in supratentorial meningioma patients aged over 80 years.

Methods: Baseline characteristics were collected from eight centers. Based on the patients' preoperative status and comorbidities, frailty was assessed by the mFI-5 and mFI-11.

The role of postoperative blood pressure management in early postoperative hemorrhage in awake craniotomy glioma patients.

Postoperative hemorrhage can severely affect the patients' neurological outcome after awake craniotomy. Higher postoperative blood pressure can increase the risk of postoperative hemorrhage. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of postoperative blood pressure and other common radiological and epidemiological features with the incidence of postoperative hemorrhage.

The Influence of Preoperative Anticoagulant and Antiplatelet Therapy on Rebleeding Rates in Patients Suffering from Spinal Metastatic Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: The age of patients requiring surgery for spinal metastasis, primarily those over 65, has risen due to improved cancer treatments. Surgical intervention targets acute neurological deficits and instability. Anticoagulants are increasingly used, especially in the elderly, but pose challenges in managing bleeding complications.

Temporal Muscle Thickness Compared to Functional Scales as a Prognostic Parameter in Patients with Brain Metastases.

Metastases are the most frequent intracranial malignant tumors in adults. While Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) and Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) are known to have significant impact on overall survival (OS), temporal muscle thickness (TMT) has been postulated to be a promising new parameter to estimate prognosis. Patients who received a resection of one to three brain metastases in our institution were included.

Prognosis versus Actual Outcomes in Stereotactic Radiosurgery of Brain Metastases: Reliability of Common Prognostic Parameters and Indices.

This study aims to evaluate the clinical outcome of stereotactic radiosurgery as the sole treatment for brain metastases and to assess prognostic factors influencing survival. A total of 108 consecutive patients with 213 metastases were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment was determined with close-meshed MRI follow-up.

Cadaveric study of ergonomics and performance using a robotic exoscope with a head-mounted display in spine surgery.

The conventional microscope has the disadvantage of a potentially unergonomic posture for the surgeon, which can affect performance. Monitor-based exoscopes could provide a more ergonomic posture, as already shown in pre-clinical studies. The aim of this study was to test the usability and comfort of a novel head-mounted display (HMD)-based exoscope on spinal surgical approaches in a simulated OR setting.

Surgical Outcome of Patients With Supratentorial Meningiomas Aged 80 Years or Older-Retrospective International Multicenter Study.

Background And Objectives: Demographic changes will lead to an increase in old patients, a population with significant risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality, requiring neurosurgery for meningiomas. This multicenter study aims to report neurofunctional status after resection of patients with supratentorial meningioma aged 80 years or older, to identify factors associated with outcome, and to validate a previously proposed decision support tool.

Methods: Neurofunctional status was assessed by the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS).

Same but different. Incidental and symptomatic lower grade gliomas show differences in molecular features and survival.

Purpose: Data on differences in overall survival and molecular characteristics between incidental (iLGG) and symptomatic lower grade Glioma (sLGG) are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate differences between patients with iLGG and sLGG.

Methods: All adult patients with a histologically proven diffuse (WHO°II) or anaplastic (WHO°III) glioma who underwent their first surgery at the authors' institution between 2010 and 2019 were retrospectively included.

Impact of GAP-43, Cx43 and actin expression on the outcome and overall survival in diffuse and anaplastic gliomas.

Distant intercellular communication in gliomas is based on the expansion of tumor microtubuli, where actin forms cytoskeleton and GAP-43 mediates the axonal conus growth. We aimed to investigate the impact of GAP-43 and actin expression on overall survival (OS) as well as crucial prognostic factors. FFPE tissue of adult patients with diffuse and anaplastic gliomas, who underwent first surgery in our center between 2010 and 2019, were selected.

The relationship between connexin-43 expression and Ki67 in non-glial central nervous system tumors.

Background: Advanced intercellular communication is a known oncogenic factor. In the central nervous system, Connexin-43 (Cx43) forms this junctional networking. Moreover, it correlates with the proliferation rate, and thus behavior, of gliomas.

Surgeon experience in glioblastoma surgery of the elderly-a multicenter, retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To assess the impact of individual surgeon experience on overall survival (OS), extent of resection (EOR) and surgery-related morbidity in elderly patients with glioblastoma (GBM), we performed a retrospective case-by-case analysis.

Methods: GBM patients aged ≥ 65 years who underwent tumor resection at two academic centers were analyzed. The experience of each neurosurgeon was quantified in three ways: (1) total number of previously performed glioma surgeries (lifetime experience); (2) number of surgeries performed in the previous five years (medium-term experience) and (3) in the last two years (short-term experience).

A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment of Radionecrosis in Malignant Gliomas and Cerebral Metastases.

Radiation necrosis represents a potentially devastating complication after radiation therapy in brain tumors. The establishment of the diagnosis and especially the differentiation from progression and pseudoprogression with its therapeutic implications requires interdisciplinary consent and monitoring. Herein, we want to provide an overview of the diagnostic modalities, therapeutic possibilities and an outlook on future developments to tackle this challenging topic.

Surgeon's comfort: The ergonomics of a robotic exoscope using a head-mounted display.

Introduction: Conventional microscopes have certain limitations in terms of posture and ergonomics. Monitor-based exoscopes could solve this problem and thereby lead to less work-related sick leave for surgeons.

Research Question: The aim of this study was to assess the ergonomics, usability, and neurosurgeon's comfort of a novel three-dimensional head-mounted display-based exoscope in a standardized setting.

The Routine Application of Tumor-Treating Fields in the Treatment of Glioblastoma WHO° IV.

Introduction: Tumor-treating fields (TTFs) are a specific local oncological treatment modality in glioblastoma multiforme WHO° IV (GBM). Their mechanism of action is based on the effect of electrical fields interfering with the mitotic activity of malignant cells. Prospective studies have demonstrated efficacy, but TTF benefits are still controversially discussed.

The Clinical Frailty Scale as useful tool in patients with brain metastases.

Purpose: The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) evaluates patients' level of frailty on a scale from 1 to 9 and is commonly used in geriatric medicine, intensive care and orthopedics. The aim of our study was to reveal whether the CFS allows a reliable prediction of overall survival (OS) in patients after surgical treatment of brain metastases (BM) compared to the Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS).

Methods: Patients operated for BM were included.

The diagnostic value of contrast enhancement on MRI in diffuse and anaplastic gliomas.

Purpose: We evaluated differentiations in gadolinium contrast enhancement (CE) between low-grade WHO °II and high-grade WHO °III gliomas in conventional MRI, which have been repeatedly questioned.

Methods: Ninety-nine patients, who underwent first resection of WHO°II and °III gliomas, were retrospectively retrieved from a prospective database. The quantitative metric volume of Gd-CE in T1-weighted pre-operative MRI was measured using volumetric segmentation.

Risk Factors for Radiation Necrosis in Patients Undergoing Cranial Stereotactic Radiosurgery.

Purpose: single-staged stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an established part of the multimodal treatment in neuro-oncology. Radiation necrosis after high-dose irradiation is a known complication, but there is a lack of evidence about the risk factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible risk factors for radiation necrosis in patients undergoing radiosurgery.

Age is associated with unfavorable neuropathological and radiological features and poor outcome in patients with WHO grade 2 and 3 gliomas.

With the rising life expectancy and availability of neuroimaging, increased number of older patients will present with diffuse and anaplastic gliomas. The aim of our study was therefore to investigate age-related prognostic clinical, neuropathological and radiological features of lower-grade gliomas. All consecutive patients with diffuse or anaplastic glioma WHO grade 2 and 3 who underwent first tumor resection between 2010 and 2018, were selected from the institutional neuro-oncological database and evaluated.