Surgical management of posterior fossa metastases

The diagnosis of brain metastases is associated with a poor prognosis reflecting uncontrolled primary disease that has spread to the relative sanctuary of the central nervous system. 20 % of brain metastases occur in the posterior fossa and are associated with significant morbidity. The risk of acute hydrocephalus and potential for sudden death means these metastases are often dealt with as emergency cases. This approach means a full pre-operative assessment and staging of underlying disease may be neglected and a proportion of patients undergo comparatively high risk surgery with little or no survival benefit. This study aimed to assess outcomes in patients to identify factors that may assist in case selection. We report a retrospective case series of 92 consecutive patients operated for posterior fossa metastases between 2007 and 2012. Routine demographic data was collected plus data on performance status, primary cancer site, details of surgery, adjuvant treatment and survival. The only independent positive prognostic factors identified on multivariate analysis were good performance status (if Karnofsky performance score >70, hazard ratio (HR) for death 0.36, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.18–0.69), adjuvant whole brain radiotherapy (HR 0.37, 95 % CI 0.21–0.65) and adjuvant chemotherapy where there was extracranial disease and non-synchronous presentation (HR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.31–0.82). Patients presenting with posterior fossa metastases may not be investigated as thoroughly as those with supratentorial tumours. Staging and assessment is essential however, and in the meantime emergencies related to tumour mass effect should be managed with steroids and cerebrospinal fluid diversion as required

Extent of resection predicts risk of progression in adult pilocytic astrocytoma.

OBJECT:Pilocytic astrocytomas are rare tumours in adults. Presentation, management and prognostic factors are poorly characterised. METHODS:Retrospective single centre study from 2000 to 2016. RESULTS:50 cases were identified (median age 29 years; range 16-76). Symptoms at presentation were neurological deficit (n = 21), headache (n = 18) and seizures (n = 6). Five were incidental findings. Five patients had hydrocephalus at presentation and required emergent management, two by endoscopic third ventriculostomy and three by external ventricular drain. Symptoms were present for a median of 16 weeks (range 1 week to 34 years). Surgery consisted of gross total resection (n = 23), subtotal resection (n = 21) or biopsy (n = 6). Progression occurred in 20 patients at a median time of 7 years following surgery and was asymptomatic in just over half of these cases. A greater degree of resection (complete vs. subtotal) was associated with longer time to progression (Kaplan-Meier analysis, log rank test = 3.58, p = 0.059). At their first progression 12 patients underwent re-resective surgery and the remainder received radiotherapy. The median 5-year survival was 80%. CONCLUSIONS:In adult patients with a pilocytic astrocytoma, a macroscopic resection should be the aim at the first resective operation. Emergency management of hydrocephalus may be required in the first instance

The prevalence and topography of spinal cord demyelination in multiple sclerosis: a retrospective study

Spinal cord pathology is a major determinant of irreversible disability in progressive multiple sclerosis. The demyelinated lesion is a cardinal feature. The well-characterised anatomy of the spinal cord and new analytic approaches allows the systematic study of lesion topography and its extent of inflammatory activity unveiling new insights into disease pathogenesis. We studied cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spinal cord tissue from 119 pathologically confirmed multiple sclerosis cases. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect demyelination (PLP) and classify lesional inflammatory activity (CD68). Prevalence and distribution of demyelination, staged by lesion activity, was determined and topographical maps were created to identify patterns of lesion prevalence and distribution using mixed models and permutation-based voxelwise analysis. 460 lesions were observed throughout the spinal cord with 76.5% of cases demonstrating at least 1 lesion. The cervical level was preferentially affected by lesions. 58.3% of lesions were inflammatory with 87.9% of cases harbouring at least 1 inflammatory lesion. Topographically, lesions consistently affected the dorsal and lateral columns with relative sparing of subpial areas in a distribution mirroring the vascular network. The presence of spinal cord lesions and the proportion of active lesions related strongly with clinical disease milestones, including time from onset to wheelchair and onset to death. We demonstrate that spinal cord demyelination is common, highly inflammatory, has a predilection for the cervical level, and relates to clinical disability. The topography of lesions in the dorsal and lateral columns and relative sparing of subpial areas points to a role of the vasculature in lesion pathogenesis, suggesting short-range cell infiltration from the blood and signaling molecules circulating in the perivascular space incite lesion development. These findings challenge the notion that end-stage progressive multiple sclerosis is ‘burnt out’ and an outside-in lesional gradient predominates in the spinal cord. Taken together, this study provides support for long-term targeting of inflammatory demyelination in the spinal cord and nominates vascular dysfunction as a potential target for new therapeutic approaches to limit irreversible disability

Distal femur fractures: basic science and international perspectives

Distal femur fractures are challenging injuries to manage, and complication rates remain high. This article summarizes the international and basic science perspectives regarding distal femoral fractures that were presented at the 2022 Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting. We review a number of critical concepts that can be considered to optimize the treatment of these difficult fractures. These include biomechanical considerations for distal femur fixation constructs, emerging treatments to prevent post-traumatic arthritis, both systemic and local biologic treatments to optimize nonunion management, the relative advantages and disadvantages of plate versus nail versus dual-implant constructs, and finally important factors which determine outcomes. A robust understanding of these principles can significantly improve success rates and minimize complications in the treatment of these challenging injuries

Use of diffusion-weighted MRI to modify radiosurgery planning in brain metastases may reduce local recurrence

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an effective and well tolerated treatment for selected brain metastases; however, local recurrence still occurs. We investigated the use of diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) as an adjunct for SRS treatment planning in brain metastases. Seventeen consecutive patients undergoing complete surgical resection of a solitary brain metastasis underwent image analysis retrospectively. SRS treatment plans were generated based on standard 3D post-contrast T1-weighted sequences at 1.5T and then separately using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in a blinded fashion. Control scans immediately post operation confirmed complete tumour resection. Treatment plans were compared to one another and with volume of local recurrence at progression quantitatively and qualitatively by calculating the conformity index (CI), the overlapping volume as a proportion of the total combined volume, where 1 = identical plans and 0 = no conformation whatsoever. Gross tumour volumes (GTVs) using ADC and post-contrast T1-weighted sequences were quantitatively the same (related samples Wilcoxon signed rank test = −0.45, p = 0.653) but showed differing conformations (CI 0.53, p < 0.001). The diffusion treatment volume (DTV) obtained by combining the two target volumes was significantly greater than the treatment volume based on post contrast T1-weighted MRI alone, both quantitatively (median 13.65 vs. 9.52 cm(3), related samples Wilcoxon signed rank test p < 0.001) and qualitatively (CI 0.74, p = 0.001). This DTV covered a greater volume of subsequent tumour recurrence than the standard plan (median 3.53 cm(3) vs. 3.84 cm(3), p = 0.002). ADC maps may be a useful tool in addition to the standard post-contrast T1-weighted sequence used for SRS planning