Survival Analysis of Patients Undergoing Intraoperative Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound in the Surgical Treatment of Malignant Glioma

Objective:Complete resection of malignant gliomas is often challenging.Our previous study indicated that intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound(ICEUS)could aid in the detection of residual tumor remnants and the total removal of brain lesions.This study aimed to investigate the survival rates of patients undergoing resection with or without the use of ICEUS and to assess the impact of ICEUS on the prognosis of patients with malignant glioma.Methods:A total of 64 patients diagnosed with malignant glioma(WHO grade HI and IV)who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2018 were included.Among them,29 patients received ICEUS.The effects of ICEUS on overall survival(OS)and progression-free survival(PFS)of patients were evaluated.A quantitative analysis was performed to compare ICEUS parameters between gliomas and the surrounding tissues.Results:The ICEUS group showed better survival rates both in OS and PFS than the control group.The univariate analysis revealed that age,pathology and ICEUS were significant prognostic factors for PFS,with only age being a significant prognostic factor for OS.In multivariate analysis,age and ICEUS were significant prognostic factors for both OS and PFS.The quantitative analysis showed that the intensity and transit time of microbubbles reaching the tumors were significantly different from those of microbubbles reaching the surrounding tissue.Conclusion:ICEUS facilitates the identification of residual tumors.Age and ICEUS are prognostic factors for malignant glioma surgery,and use of ICEUS offers a better prognosis for patients with malignant glioma.

Microsurgical Treatment of Craniopharyngiomas: A Retrospective Analysis

Objective: This retrospective study aims to survey the clinical outcomes of 341 consecutive patients surgically treated for and diagnosed with craniopharyngioma (CP) treated in a 10-year period in a single institution. Methods: The clinical reports of three hundred forty-one patients CP patients treated surgically between January 2006 and December 2016 were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. Results: Our cohort consisted of 341 patients (202 male, 139 female) with a mean age of 34.9 years (range 1 - 74 years);Tumor Features: 129 patients (37.8%) had cystic tumors, 88 (23.8%) had solid tumors whereas 126 (36.4%) had heterogeneous lesions with a solid and cystic portion;calcifications were present in 139 (40.8%);Tumor Topography: Suprasellar 198 (58.1%), Intrasellar 40 (11.7%), Intra-third ventricular 103 (30.2%);Surgical approaches used among the patients included: Pterional 262 (76.8%), Transsphenoidal (TS) 42 (12.3%) Transcallosal 20 (5.9%), Transcortical 16 (4.7%) suboccipital 1 and combined approach 1;Gross total removal (GTR) was achieved in 247 patients (72.4%), Subtotal removal (STR) in 94 patients (27.6%). Good postoperative outcome at discharge was achieved in 324 (95%) patients while 17 (5%) patients had poor outcome including 5 (1.5%) perioperative deaths. Mean hospital length of stay was 21.87 (8 - 129). There were 42 (12.9%) recurrences with a mean time to recurrence of 28.36 (3 - 84) months, among which 37 (88.1%) underwent surgery for recurrence treatment. Follow-up time ranged from 3 months to 10 years. There was a statistical significance between open transcranial surgery and suprasellar tumors (p < 0.0001), TS and intrasellar tumors (p < 0.0001);postoperative diabetes inspidus and gross total resection (p < 0.0001);GTR and cystic tumors (p = 0.034) calcification and GTR (p = 0.0008). Conclusion: Good surgical outcome and long-term tumor control can be achieved through individual-based selective resection, whether total or subtotal resection. Whereas surgical prehistory of CP was found to be a significant risk factor to recurrence (p < 0.0001), the clinical risk factors of CP of recurrence are still arguable, including the presence residual tumor due to subtotal resection. More future studies are necessary.