New technologies for low-grade glioma surgery

Brain surgery has come far from the primitive methods used thousands of years ago. In the last hundred years alone, we have come across countless breakthroughs like the invention of bipolar coagulation, the surgical microscope, microsurgical techniques and a large variety of surgical instruments. The latest years have brought us neuro-navigation, intra-operative imaging techniques and brain activity monitoring. Low-grade glioma surgery, in particular, has taken advantage a lot from all these new methods, bringing great benefits for the patients: the safe extent of resection has grown progressively and tumours located in eloquent areas that were thought until recently to be inoperable, have started to be removed in safe conditions. The purpose of this paper is to present these new technologies as a recap for neurosurgical professionals

Epidemiological, genetic, and clinical characterization by age of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia based on an academic population-based registry study (AMLSG BiO)

We describe genetic and clinical characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients according to age from an academic population-based registry. Adult patients with newly diagnosed AML at 63 centers in Germany and Austria were followed within the AMLSG BiO registry (NCT01252485). Between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014, data of 3525 patients with AML (45% women) were collected. The median age was 65 years (range 18–94). The comparison of age-specific AML incidence rates with epidemiological cancer registries revealed excellent coverage in patients 0 were associated with non-intensive treatment or best supportive care. The AMLSG BiO registry provides reliable population-based distributions of genetic, clinical, and treatment characteristics according to age

The T2FLAIR mismatch novel radiogenomic marker in the newly suspected low-grade gliomas: Implications for grading and neurosurgical management in light of the 2021 WHO Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System (WHOCNS5)

Background. The T2-FLAIR (fluid-attenuated inversion recovery) mismatch sign has been defined over the last few years as an important novel radiogenomic marker highly suggestive of isocitrate dehydrogenase mutated (IDH-mut) 1p19q non-codeleted gliomas (astrocytomas). Existing studies have demonstrated that this has good specificity but limited sensitivity for IDH-mut astrocytomas. Thenew 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System (WHO CNS5) has introduced a layered grading system in which all IDH mutant diffuse astrocytic tumours are considered a single type (Astrocytoma, IDH-mutant) and are graded as CNS WHO grade 2, 3, or 4. Because of the growing importance of molecular information in CNS tumour classification, diagnoses and diagnostic reports need to combine different data types into a single diagnosis. Whether the T2FLAIR mismatch sign is of clinical relevance for the management of low-grade gliomas still needs to be further determined.Methods. We included histologically verified supratentorial low-grade gliomas (LGG) WHO grade 2-3 retrospectively during the period 2013–2018 (n=18). For the period 2019–2023 (n=27), patients with a radiological presumptive diagnosis of low-grade glioma were prospectively included, and we took into consideration the fact that in this group we could encounter other diagnoses than glioma.Clinical, radiological and histology data were collected. We aimed to examine the association of the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign (where identified) with clinical factors and outcomes. We evaluated the diagnostic reliability of the mismatch sign and its relation to the definitive histological diagnosis, the co-existence of an MR spectroscopy signature; we have also tried to determine whether the identification of the radiogenomic marker had any impact on the clinical outcome through the decision-making in neurosurgical management.Results. Out of 45 patients with radiological suspected glioma, 30 had a definitive diagnosis of diffuse astrocytoma grade 2 and 3 (Astrocytoma, IDH-mutant according to WHOCNS5). 6 patients had a diagnosis of glioblastoma (Glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype according to WHOCNS5). 8 patients have been diagnosed with oligodendroglioma (Oligodendroglioma, IDH-mutant, and 1p/19q-codeleted according to WHOCNS5) and 1 case had a definitive histology of cerebral abscess. Out of the 30 patients with IDH-mut astrocytoma, 6 (20.0%) showed a mismatch sign. The sensitivity and specificity of the mismatch sign for IDH-mut astrocytoma detection were 20% and98.6%, respectively. There were no differences between patients with an IDH-mut astrocytoma with or without T2FLAIR mismatch sign when grouped according to this with related to baseline characteristics, clinical outcome and presenting symptoms. MR spectroscopy sequences were analyzed where available for the retrospective and prospective cohort. There were 7 cases where MR spectroscopy was performed and, for the IDH-mut astrocytoma cases (n=4) it showed a persistent high Cho/NAA ratio without any difference between the patients with or without the T2FLAIR mismatch sign.Conclusion. In our relatively small retrospective and prospective cohorts, the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign, where identified, was not correlated with clinical features at presentation, prognosis or outcome. Until recently, the grading of CNS tumours has been focusing mainly on histology characteristics, but specific molecular markers can now be used for valuable prognostic information. For this reason, molecular-specific information has been added as an essential feature in grading and it is considered very useful for further estimation of prognosis within variable tumor types. We could not determine if the IDH-mut astrocytomas with mismatch sign represent a specific subgroup. Our study has confirmed that the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign is a reliable and specific marker of IDH-mut astrocytomas

The T2FLAIR mismatch novel radiogenomic marker in the newly suspected low-grade gliomas

Background. The T2-FLAIR (fluid-attenuated inversion recovery) mismatch sign has been defined over the last few years as an important novel radiogenomic marker highly suggestive of isocitrate dehydrogenase mutated (IDH-mut) 1p19q non-codeleted gliomas (astrocytomas). Existing studies have demonstrated that this has good specificity but limited sensitivity for IDH-mut astrocytomas. The new 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System (WHO CNS5) has introduced a layered grading system in which all IDH mutant diffuse astrocytic tumours are considered a single type (Astrocytoma, IDH-mutant) and are graded as CNS WHO grade 2, 3, or 4. Because of the growing importance of molecular information in CNS tumour classification, diagnoses and diagnostic reports need to combine different data types into a single diagnosis. Whether the T2FLAIR mismatch sign is of clinical relevance for the management of low-grade gliomas still needs to be further determined. Methods. We included histologically verified supratentorial low-grade gliomas (LGG) WHO grade 2-3 retrospectively during the period 2013–2018 (n=18). For the period 2019–2023 (n=27), patients with a radiological presumptive diagnosis of low-grade glioma were prospectively included, and we took into consideration the fact that in this group we could encounter other diagnoses than glioma. Clinical, radiological and histology data were collected. We aimed to examine the association of the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign (where identified) with clinical factors and outcomes. We evaluated the diagnostic reliability of the mismatch sign and its relation to the definitive histological diagnosis, the co-existence of an MR spectroscopy signature; we have also tried to determine whether the identification of the radiogenomic marker had any impact on the clinical outcome through the decision-making in neurosurgical management. Results. Out of 45 patients with radiological suspected glioma, 30 had a definitive diagnosis of diffuse astrocytoma grade 2 and 3 (Astrocytoma, IDH-mutant according to WHOCNS5). 6 patients had a diagnosis of glioblastoma (Glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype according to WHOCNS5). 8 patients have been diagnosed with oligodendroglioma (Oligodendroglioma, IDH-mutant, and 1p/19q-codeleted according to WHOCNS5) and 1 case had a definitive histology of cerebral abscess. Out of the 30 patients with IDH-mut astrocytoma, 6 (20.0%) showed a mismatch sign. The sensitivity and specificity of the mismatch sign for IDH-mut astrocytoma detection were 20% and 98.6%, respectively. There were no differences between patients with an IDH-mut astrocytoma with or without T2FLAIR mismatch sign when grouped according to this with related to baseline characteristics, clinical outcome and presenting symptoms. MR spectroscopy sequences were analyzed where available for the retrospective and prospective cohort. There were 7 cases where MR spectroscopy was performed and, for the IDH-mut astrocytoma cases (n=4) it showed a persistent high Cho/NAA ratio without any difference between the patients with or without the T2FLAIR mismatch sign. Conclusion. In our relatively small retrospective and prospective cohorts, the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign, where identified, was not correlated with clinical features at presentation, prognosis or outcome. Until recently, the grading of CNS tumours has been focusing mainly on histology characteristics, but specific molecular markers can now be used for valuable prognostic information. For this reason, molecular-specific information has been added as an essential feature in grading and it is considered very useful for further estimation of prognosis within variable tumor types. We could not determine if the IDH-mut astrocytomas with mismatch sign represent a specific subgroup. Our study has confirmed that the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign is a reliable and specific marker of IDH-mut astrocytomas

IKZF1 expression is a prognostic marker in newly diagnosed standard-risk multiple myeloma treated with lenalidomide and intensive chemotherapy: a study of the German Myeloma Study Group (DSMM)

Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory compound with high clinical activity in multiple myeloma. Lenalidomide binding to the Cereblon (CRBN) E3 ubiquitin ligase results in targeted ubiquitination and degradation of the lymphoid transcription factors Ikaros (IKZF1) and Aiolos (IKZF3) leading to growth inhibition of multiple myeloma cells. Recently, Basigin (BSG) was identified as another protein regulated by CRBN that is involved in the activity of lenalidomide. Here, we analyzed the prognostic value of IKZF1, IKZF3, CRBN and BSG mRNA expression levels in pretreatment plasma cells from 60 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma uniformly treated with lenalidomide in combination with intensive chemotherapy within a clinical trial. We found that IKZF1 mRNA expression levels are significantly associated with progression-free survival (PFS). Patients in the lowest quartile (Q1) of IKZF1 expression had a superior PFS compared with patients in the remaining quartiles (Q2–Q4; 3-year PFS of 86 vs 51%, P=0.01). This translated into a significant better overall survival (100 vs 74%, P=0.03). Subgroup analysis revealed a significant impact of IKZF1, IKZF3 and BSG expression levels on PFS in cytogenetically defined standard-risk but not high-risk patients. Our data suggest a prognostic role of IKZF1, IKZF3 and BSG expression levels in lenalidomide-treated multiple myeloma