Radiotherapy of Intracranial Astrocytomas

Neurosurgery ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. Scanlon ◽  
William F. Taylor

Abstract In a review of 417 intracranial astrocytomas treated radiotherapeutically at the Mayo Clinic from 1960 through 1969, the well-known correlation of tumor grade with survival was verified. Totally unexpected was the finding that age was fully as important a discriminant as tumor grade. Another unexpected finding was that patients treated with biopsy only followed by radiation therapy did as well as or slightly better than those subjected to resection followed by postoperative radiotherapy. We could not verify the importance to survival of either large dose or large volume radiotherapy, which has been emphasized by some. Patients receiving less than 1400 rets did just as well as or slightly better than those receiving more than 1400 rets. With low grade astrocytomas, survival beyond 4 years was significantly worse (higher death rates) in the group receiving more than 1400 rets. This suggested the possibility of radiation damage with delayed manifestations. We also could not verify an increased effectiveness for the generally accepted use of total brain irradiation for high grade gliomas.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117955492092766
Author(s):  
Runzhuo Ma ◽  
Haizhui Xia ◽  
Min Qiu ◽  
Liyuan Tao ◽  
Min Lu ◽  
...  

Background: To develop a novel nomogram to improve the preoperative diagnosis of pathological grade of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Methods: Retrospective study was conducted with 245 patients with UTUC treated by radical nephroureterectomy from 2002 to 2016. Of the cohort, 57.6% received ureteroscopic (URS) biopsy and 35.9% received urine cytology examination. Preoperative clinical characteristics and examination results were collected. Final pathological grade was diagnosed by postoperative pathology. Univariable and multivariable binary logistic regressions were applied to establish a preoperative predictive model for tumor grade, and significant factors were included in the nomogram. The area under curve (AUC) was used to show the predictive efficacy, and the calibration plot was drawn for validation. Results: Of the 245 patients, 72.7% were diagnosed with pathological high-grade disease. Age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.03, P = .039), sessile (OR = 3.86, P = .021), positive urinary cytology (OR = 6.87, P = .035), and biopsy high-grade result (OR = 10.85, P < .001) were independent predictors for pathological high-grade disease. The predictive nomogram containing these factors achieved an AUC of 0.78, which was significantly better than URS biopsy alone (AUC = 0.62, P = .003) in the whole cohort. In the URS biopsy subgroup, the nomogram achieved an AUC of 0.79, better than biopsy alone (AUC = 0.76), but was not statistically significant ( P = .431). When the cutoff value of the nomogram was set at 0.64, the sensitivity of detecting a high-grade lesion versus low-grade lesion was 80.3%, better than that of URS biopsy alone (sensitivity = 65.7%). Conclusions: Advanced age, sessile, positive urinary cytology, and biopsy high-grade were independent predictors of pathological high-grade disease in patients with UTUC. A nomogram containing these factors can improve diagnostic accuracy, potentially reducing the risk of “undergrading” by URS biopsy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajia Liu ◽  
Xiaoyi Tian ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Xixiong Kang ◽  
Wenqi Song

Abstract Background The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is widely considered as a pivotal immune checkpoint molecule to suppress antitumor immunity. However, the significance of soluble CTLA-4 (sCTLA-4) remains unclear in the patients with brain glioma. Here we aimed to investigate the significance of serum sCTLA-4 levels as a noninvasive biomarker for diagnosis and evaluation of the prognosis in glioma patients. Methods In this study, the levels of sCTLA-4 in serum from 50 patients diagnosed with different grade gliomas including preoperative and postoperative, and 50 healthy individuals were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). And then ROC curve analysis and survival analyses were performed to explore the clinical significance of sCTLA-4. Results Serum sCTLA-4 levels were significantly increased in patients with glioma compared to that of healthy individuals, and which was also positively correlated with the tumor grade. ROC curve analysis showed that the best cutoff value for sCTLA-4 for glioma is 112.1 pg/ml, as well as the sensitivity and specificity with 82.0 and 78.0%, respectively, and a cut-off value of 220.43 pg/ml was best distinguished in patients between low-grade glioma group and high-grade glioma group with sensitivity 73.1% and specificity 79.2%. Survival analysis revealed that the patients with high sCTLA-4 levels (> 189.64 pg/ml) had shorter progression-free survival (PFS) compared to those with low sCTLA-4 levels (≤189.64 pg/ml). In the univariate analysis, elder, high-grade tumor, high sCTLA-4 levels and high Ki-67 index were significantly associated with shorter PFS. In the multivariate analysis, sCTLA-4 levels and tumor grade remained an independent prognostic factor. Conclusion These findings indicated that serum sCTLA-4 levels play a critical role in the pathogenesis and development of glioma, which might become a valuable predictive biomarker for supplementary diagnosis and evaluation of the progress and prognosis in glioma.


2022 ◽  
pp. 000348942110694
Author(s):  
Holden W. Richards ◽  
Caitlin Bertelsen ◽  
Bronwyn Hamilton ◽  
David Sauer ◽  
Joshua Schindler

Objectives: Discussions regarding the specific management and outcomes for laryngeal MEC are limited to very small, single-institution case series. To look further into the diagnosis and management of these uncommon non-squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx, we present 3 recent cases of laryngeal MEC treated at our institution. Methods: Patients at a tertiary hospital treated for MEC between October 2019 and December 2020 were retrospectively identified. Chart review, imaging analysis, and histologic slide creation were completed for all patients. Results: We identified and treated 2 patients with high-grade supraglottic and 1 patient with intermediate-grade glottic MEC. These patients presented to our clinic with a primary complaint of either gradual, worsening dysphonia, dysphagia, or both. All patients underwent laryngovideostroboscopy as well as panendoscopy with directed submucosal biopsy, which was consistent with MEC. MRI was performed in 2 of the cases further elucidating the extent of submucosal spread. PET-CT was performed in all 3 cases, and none demonstrated evidence of regional or distal metastases. Surgically, high-grade MEC lesions were treated with a total laryngectomy. The intermediate MEC lesion was managed with a supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCPL). Surgical margins were free of tumor in all cases with no nodal metastases by modified radical neck dissection. Radiation therapy was offered to both high-grade MEC patients and declined by one. Radiation was not recommended to the patient with intermediate-grade MEC as we believed that the risk of additional treatment outweighed the benefit. Conclusion: We believe that MEC of the larynx should be considered in patients with atypical submucosal laryngeal masses. Laryngovideostroboscopy, MRI, and PET imaging may be valuable in determining the extent of the lesions and planning appropriate surgery. Postoperative radiation therapy should be considered a per tumor grade in other more studied sites, as there is no data on efficacy in laryngeal MEC.


2006 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-459
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Renshaw ◽  
Dina R. Mody ◽  
Patricia Styer ◽  
Mary Schwartz ◽  
Barbara Ducatman ◽  
...  

Abstract Context.—Previous studies have shown that in gynecologic cytology, cases of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) perform differently on interpretive review. The performance of cases with mixed LSIL and HSIL features is unknown. Objective.—To compare the performance of gynecologic cytology cases of “pure” LSIL and HSIL with cases showing mixed LSIL and HSIL features. Design.—We compiled performance data from the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program in Cervicovaginal Cytopathology from the years 2003 and 2004, and compared the performance of slides showing relatively pure LSIL and HSIL (≤10% misclassification as HSIL and LSIL, respectively) with slides showing mixed LSIL or HSIL features (cases misclassified as LSIL or HSIL &gt;10% of the time). Results.—Interpretations from a total of 4508 cases (2452 HSIL and 2056 LSIL) were analyzed. Overall, the sensitivity of participants on slides with a reference diagnosis of HSIL was 97.3%, and of LSIL was 95.9%. Performance trends for pure versus mixed cases varied by slide type and reference diagnosis. For conventional slides, participant sensitivity on pure HSIL cases was greatest (98.0%) and on pure LSIL cases was least (95.2%), while participant performance on cases with mixed features was intermediate (97.0% for mixed HSIL and 96.7% for mixed LSIL). In contrast, participant performance on ThinPrep slides showed the greatest sensitivity for mixed LSIL slides (97.9%), while performance on mixed HSIL slides showed the lowest sensitivity (95.7%); slides with pure features had intermediate sensitivity levels (96.3% for both HSIL and LSIL). Further evaluation demonstrated that conventional pure HSIL slides performed significantly better than mixed HSIL slides (P = .006), whereas mixed LSIL slides performed better than pure LSIL slides (P = .01). For ThinPrep slides, pure HSIL cases performed similarly to mixed HSIL cases (P = .43), while mixed LSIL cases performed better than pure LSIL cases (P = .04). Conclusion.—Slides with mixed LSIL and HSIL features have measurably distinct performance characteristics in comparison to slides with pure LSIL or HSIL features. Participant performance on conventional mixed cases is distinctly different from performance on ThinPrep mixed cases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 485-485
Author(s):  
Jamil Syed ◽  
Kevin Nguyen ◽  
Juan Javier-Desloges ◽  
Michael Leapman ◽  
Jay D. Raman ◽  
...  

485 Background: Approximately 7% of patients with localized upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) are treated without definitive therapy. Understanding outcomes and alternative therapy would aid in counseling older patients with co-morbidities. Methods: We utilized the National Cancer Database to identify patients with localized UTUC managed non-surgically between 2004 and 2013. Patient demographics, co-morbidity, tumor grade, and chemotherapy and radiation utilization were recorded. Survival analyses were performed with the Kaplan-Meier method and a cox proportional hazard regression model. Results: We identified 3,157 (10.9%) patients with localized UTUC who did not receive definitive surgery. Median age was 79 years, 55% were males, 79% had government health insurance, and 68% had a CDS of 0. Tumor grade was low (grade 1 or 2) in 632 (36.4%) and high (grade 3 or 4) in 1104 (63.6%). Median overall survival (OS) for the cohort was 2.2 years, significantly shorter for patients with greater co-morbidities. Chemotherapy or radiation was performed in 294 (9.3%) and 197 (6.3%) patients respectively. There were no OS differences for individuals receiving chemotherapy. Of patients who received radiation therapy, the median OS was 1.4 vs 2.0 years, (p<0.001) favoring no radiation. Those with high grade tumors had worse survival (1.9 vs 3.8 years (p<0.001). Significant predictors of shorter OS included older age, male gender, higher CDS, and government insurance. Conclusions: In this population-based cohort, 10.9% of patients with localized UTUC were managed non-surgically. Radiation and chemotherapy were not routinely utilized, and did not demonstrate improved survival. Median OS was significantly shorter for those with higher grade disease, increasing co-morbidity profile, male gender, and those with government insurance status.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Rognoni ◽  
Laurent R. Chiarelli ◽  
Sergio Comincini ◽  
Alberto Azzalin ◽  
Clelia Miracco ◽  
...  

Doppel (Dpl) is a membrane-bound glycoprotein mainly expressed in the testis of adult healthy people. It is generally absent in the central nervous system, but its coding gene sequence is ectopically expressed in astrocytoma specimens and in derived cell lines. In this paper, we investigated the expression and the biochemical features of Dpl in a panel of 49 astrocytoma specimens of different WHO malignancy grades. As a result, Dpl was expressed in the majority of the investigated specimens (86%), also including low grade samples. Importantly, Dpl exhibited different cellular localizations and altered glycan moieties composition, depending on the tumor grade. Most low-grade astrocytomas (83%) showed a membrane-bound Dpl, like human healthy testis tissue, whereas the majority of high-grade astrocytomas (75%) displayed a cytosolic Dpl. Deglycosylation studies with N-glycosidase F and/or neuraminidase highlighted defective glycan moieties and an unexpected loss of sialic acid. To find associations between glial tumor progression and Dpl biochemical features, predictive bioinformatics approaches were produced. In particular, Decision tree and Nomogram analysis showed well-defined Dpl-based criteria that separately clustered low-and high-grade astrocytomas. Taken together, these findings show that in astrocytomas, Dpl undergoes different molecular processes that might constitute additional helpful tools to characterize the glial tumor progression.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reed Ritterbusch ◽  
Lia M. Halasz ◽  
Jerome J. Graber

Abstract Purpose Criteria by the Radiologic Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) group outline the diagnosis of pseudoprogression (Ps) after photon therapy for gliomas based on timing and location. We noted that patients receiving proton therapy manifested radiographic changes that appear different than Ps after photon therapy, which could be interpreted as tumor progression. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed MR imaging after proton or photon radiation for gliomas. We propose criteria to characterize proton pseudoprogression (ProPs) as distinct from Ps seen after photons. Methods Post-treatment MR imaging, clinical and pathological data of low grade glioma patients were reviewed. Overall, 57 patients receiving protons were reviewed for the presence of ProPs, and 43 patients receiving photons were reviewed for any equivalent imaging changes. Data collected included the location and timing of the new enhancement, tumor grade, molecular subtype, chemotherapy received, and clinical symptoms. Results Fourteen patients (24.6%) had new enhancement following radiation therapy that was unique to treatment with protons. The mean time to development of the ProPs was 15.4 months (7–27 months). We established the following criteria to characterize ProPs: located at the distal end of the proton beam; resolves without tumor-directed therapy; and subjectively multifocal, patchy, and small (< 1 cm). In the group receiving photons, none had changes that met our criteria for ProPs. Conclusion Patients who receive protons have unique imaging changes after radiation therapy. ProPs could be mistaken for tumor progression, but typically resolves on follow up. Further studies are needed to understand the radiobiology and pathophysiology underlying these imaging changes.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 739
Author(s):  
Peter Hauser

The overall survival of pediatric gliomas varies over a wide spectrum depending on the tumor grade. Low-grade gliomas have an excellent long-term survival, with a possible burden of surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy; in contrast, high-grade gliomas generally have a short-term, devastating lethal outcome. Recent advances in understanding their molecular background will transform the classification and therapeutic approaches of pediatric gliomas. Molecularly targeted treatments may acquire a leading role in the primary treatment of low-grade gliomas and may provide alternative therapeutic strategies for high-grade glioma cases in the attempt to avoid the highly unsuccessful conventional therapeutic approaches. This review aims to overview this progress.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liming Cao ◽  
Zhanghua Lv ◽  
Weiliang Wang ◽  
Xue Li ◽  
Jing Shi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Antibiotic allergy and blood eosinophil percentage (EOS%) may play an important role in the prognosis of gliomas, but few studies reported the relationship between antibiotic allergy and glioma as well as EOS% and glioma. The aim of our study was to estimate the relationships between antibiotic allergy, blood eosinophil percentage (EOS%) and glioma prognosis and to conduct a nomogram model for glioma patients. Estimating the effect of antibiotic allergy and EOS% on glioma prognosis may conduce to finding low-cost and safe prognostic indicators of glioma.Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study with 656 glioma patients to estimate the associations between antibiotic allergy, EOS% and glioma prognosis by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis. Stratified analyses were performed according to tumor grade. We constructed a nomogram with age at diagnosis, gender, tumor grade, antibiotic allergy, EOS% to predict the survival probabilities of glioma. Results: During 12 months follow-up, a total of 227 patients were alive and 318 patients died. Antibiotic allergy and EOS% >1.65 conferred a survival advantage on glioma patients. In the stratified analysis by tumor grade, antibiotic allergy was significantly associated with the prognosis of the prognosis of low-grade gliomas (HR = 0.36, 95%CI: 0.13-0.97) and high-grade gliomas (HR = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.36-0.93) in the univariate Cox regression analysis. However, after adjusting for confounding factors in the multivariate Cox regression analysis, antibiotic allergy was only significantly associated with high-grade gliomas (HRadj = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.30-0.82); the relationship between EOS% and glioma prognosis was restricted to low-grade gliomas (HRadj = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.30-0.82). The C-index of nomogram was 0.74.Conclusions: Antibiotic allergy was a protective prognosis factor of high-grade gliomas, EOS% >1.65 was a protective prognosis factor of low-grade gliomas. The nomogram with antibiotic allergy and EOS% could effectively predict the survival probability of glioma.


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