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Background: First-line therapies for medulloblastoma(MBL) are obtaining higher survival-rates while decreasing late-effects, but treatment at relapse is not standardized. We report here the experience with MBL re-irradiation(re-RT), its timing and outcome in different clinical settings and tumor groups., Methods: Patient's staging/treatment at diagnosis, histotypes/molecular subgroups, relapse site/s, re-treatments outcome are reported., Results: 25 patients were included, with a median age of 11.4 years; 8 had metastases. According to 2016-2021 WHO-classification, 14 had SHH subgroup tumors(six TP53 mutated,one + MYC,one + NMYC amplification), 11 non-WNT/non-SHH (two with MYC/MYCN amplification).Thirteen had received HART-CSI, 11 standard-CSI, one HFRT; all post-radiation chemotherapy(CT), 16 also pre-RT. Median time to relapse (local-LR in nine, distant-DR in 14, LR + DR in two) was 26 months. Fourteen patients were re-operated, in five cases excising single DR-sites, thereafter three received CT, two after re-RT; out of 11 patients not re-operated, four had re-RT as first treatment and seven after CT. Re-RT was administered at median 32 months after first RT: focally in 20 cases, craniospinal-CSI in five. Median post-relapse-PFS/after re-RT was 16.7/8.2 months, while overall survival-OS was 35.1/23.9 months, respectively. Metastatic status both at diagnosis/relapse negatively affected outcome and re-surgery was prognostically favorable. PD after re-RT was however significantly more frequent in SHH (with a suggestive association with TP53 mutation, p = 0.050). We did not observe any influence of biological subgroups on PFS from recurrence while SHH showed apparently worse OS compared to non-WNT/non-SHH group., Conclusions: Re-surgery + reRT can prolong survival; a substantial fraction of patients with worse outcome belongs to the SHH-subgroup., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Confocal laser technology has been recently suggested as a promising method to obtain near real-time intraoperative histological data. We recently demonstrated the accuracy of a newly designed confocal endomiscroscope (CONVIVO) in offering an intraoperative diagnosis during high-grade gliomas (HGGs) removal in an ex vivo study. With this work we aim to perform a standardized, prospective and blinded-to-histological section study for evaluating the potentiality of CONVIVO in offering in-vivo data regarding histological diagnosis and presence of tumor at margins during resection of central nervous system (CNS) tumors., Methods: This prospective, observational, standardized, blinded-to-histological section, clinical trial was approved by the institutional review board in Carlo Besta Neurologic Institute IRCCS Foundation in Milan and is expected to last 24 months. 75 patients will be included, with at least 53 of them being HGGs based on the statistical sample size calculation. Main objectives will be the assessing of the concordance of tumor diagnoses between CONVIVO images and frozen section at the center of all tumor subtypes and the evaluation of the accuracy of CONVIVO in the identification of tumor tissue at the margins, compared to standard histology. For this purpose, "virtual biopsies" and physical biopsies will be performed directly on patient tumor tissue and surrounding brain parenchima during tumor resection, comparing the results of CONVIVO analysis and frozen and histological sections., Results: Despite promising preliminary data on ex vivo usefulness of CLE machines are emerging in literature, still few studies are available when looking at in vivo potentiality of CONVIVO. At this regard, this study will be the first work where a standardized, prospective, and blinded-to-histological section CONVIVO analysis will be performed in an in-vivo setting in neuro-oncological surgery., Conclusions: We hypothesize that this new technique may have a role in offering data regarding presence of tumor tissue, eventually giving an intraoperative diagnosis in neuro-oncological surgery, rendering more fluid the decision-making process in the operating room. Furthermore, the result of this study will provide a solid base for further expanding the clinical applications of confocal machines in neurosurgery.

Introduction: Surgical resection represents the mainstay of treatment, in pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors, and aggressive resection correlates with prognosis for several histotypes. Sodium fluorescein (SF), a green, water-soluble dye, is used as neurosurgical fluorescent tracer thanks to its property to accumulate in cerebral regions of blood-brain barrier disruption, acting as a valid tool to improve the extent of resection in tumors enhancing at preoperative MRI. Brain neoplasms represent a heterogeneous group of tumors in the pediatric age, constituting the most common solid cancers; they typically show a varying degree of contrast enhancement on MRI., Materials and Methods: In March 2016, the authors started a prospective, observational trial to evaluate intraoperative fluorescence's characteristics of CNS tumors, the percentage of extent of resection, thanks to fluorescein aid, and side effects related to fluorescein administration. This report is based on a retrospective analysis of a group of 33 consecutive pediatric patients harboring a supratentorial lesion., Results: In 17 of 33 (51.5%) procedures, fluorescence was reported as intense; in 14 of 33 (42.4%), moderate; and in 2 of 33 (6.1%), slight. Intraoperative fluorescence corresponds to preoperative-MRI-documented contrast enhancement. In 28 of 33 (84.8%) surgical procedures, SF was considered useful; in 2 of 33 (6.1%), partial useful; and in 3 of 33 (9.1%), not essential because the tumor was already recognizable. No adverse effect to SF administration was registered., Conclusion: Fluorescein-guided surgery with a dedicated filter on the microscope is a safe and effective technique to improve visualization and resection of different pediatric brain tumors., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The main goal of brain tumor surgery is to achieve gross total tumor resection without postoperative complications and permanent new deficits. However, when the lesion is located close or within eloquent brain areas, cranial nerves, and/or major brain vessels, it is imperative to balance the extent of resection with the risk of harming the patient, by following a so-called maximal safe resection philosophy. This view implies a shift from an approach-guided attitude, in which few standard surgical approaches are used to treat almost all intracranial tumors, to a pathology-guided one, with surgical approaches actually tailored to the specific tumor that has to be treated with specific dedicated pre- and intraoperative tools and techniques. In this chapter, the basic principles of the most commonly used neurosurgical approaches in brain tumors surgery are presented and discussed along with an overview on all available modern tools able to improve intraoperative visualization, extent of resection, and postoperative clinical outcome., (© 2023. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Quality measurement and outcome assessment have recently caught an attention of the neurosurgical community, but lack of standardized definitions and methodology significantly complicates these tasks., Objective: To identify a uniform definition of neurosurgical complications, to classify them according to etiology, and to evaluate them comprehensively in cases of intracranial tumor removal in order to establish a new, easy, and practical grading system capable of predicting the risk of postoperative clinical worsening of the patient condition., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on all elective surgeries directed at removal of intracranial tumor in the authors' institution during 2-year study period. All sociodemographic, clinical, and surgical factors were extracted from prospectively compiled comprehensive patient registry. Data on all complications, defined as any deviation from the ideal postoperative course occurring within 30 days of the procedure, were collected with consideration of the required treatment and etiology. A logistic regression model was created for identification of independent factors associated with worsening of the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score at discharge after surgery in comparison with preoperative period. For each identified statistically significant independent predictor of the postoperative worsening, corresponding score was defined, and grading system, subsequently named Milan Complexity Scale (MCS), was formed., Results: Overall, 746 cases of surgeries for removal of intracranial tumor were analyzed. Postoperative complications of any kind were observed in 311 patients (41.7%). In 223 cases (29.9%), worsening of the KPS score at the time of discharge in comparison with preoperative period was noted. It was independently associated with 5 predictive factors-major brain vessel manipulation, surgery in the posterior fossa, cranial nerve manipulation, surgery in the eloquent area, tumor size >4 cm-which comprised MCS with a range of the total score from 0 to 8 (higher score indicates more complex clinical situations). Patients who demonstrated KPS worsening after surgery had significantly higher total MCS scores in comparison with individuals whose clinical status at discharge was improved or unchanged (3.24 ± 1.55 versus 1.47 ± 1.58; P < 0.001)., Conclusion: It is reasonable to define neurosurgical complication as any deviation from the ideal postoperative course occurring within 30 days of the procedure. Suggested MCS allows for standardized assessment of surgical complexity before intervention and for estimating the risk of clinical worsening after removal of intracranial tumor. Collection of data on surgical complexity, occurrence of complications, and postoperative outcomes, using standardized prospectively maintained comprehensive patient registries seems very important for quality measurement and should be attained in all neurosurgical centers., (© 2023. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: In recent years several techniques have been proposed with the aim of improving tumors visualization and extent of resection and, among them, the use of photosensitive dyes is gaining great interest. Regarding the application of the two most used dyes, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) and sodium fluorescein (SF), there is still a lack of shared and established protocols among different centers. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the current practice of fluorescence-guided techniques in neuro-oncological surgery in Europe., Methods: An online questionnaire consisting of 33 questions was completed by 136 European Association of Neurosurgical Societies neurosurgeons. Responses were entered into a database and subsequently analyzed., Results: Data were analyzed from 136 out of 1476 active European neurosurgeons which had been contacted, with a 9,2% response rate. Based on the data from the questionnaire, Germany was the most responsive country (15% of the total respondents) and the main indication for 5-ALA and SF utilization were high-grade gliomas. 5-ALA was mainly used as defined in Gliolan ® datasheet, while SF as off-label technique with a 5 mg/kg dose of injection at the end of patient intubation. Both the dyes were mainly used in adult population, more frequently by neurosurgeons with less-than 20 cases per year expertise. Mean price per patient were 817,6 € and 7,7 € for 5-ALA and SF, respectively., Conclusions: 5-ALA acid is still the preferred and more established fluorescent dye used during high-grade gliomas resection, with SF as a gaining-attention, really cheaper and more ductile alternative.

Background: Surgery has a fundamental role in central nervous system (CNS) tumors in the pediatric population, as aggressive resection correlates with prognosis. Due to its accumulation in areas with damaged blood brain barrier, sodium fluorescein (SF) could be a valid tool to improve the extent of resection in tumors enhancing at preoperative MRI. This study is aimed to systematically assess the utility of SF in a pediatric population., Methods: Patient data were collected in two centers, one in Italy and the other in Germany. At the induction of anesthesia, SF was administered intravenously (5 mg/kg). Surgery was performed using a YELLOW560 filter. Fluorescence intensity was graduated as bright, moderate or absent based on surgeon's opinion; furthermore, SF use was judged as "helpful," "not helpful" or "not essential" in tumor removal., Results: Twenty-four patients for 27 surgical procedures were identified. In 21 of 27 (77.8%) procedures fluorescence was reported as bright or moderate, in two of 27 (7.4%) absent and in four of 27 (14.8%) data were unavailable. Intraoperative fluorescence was reported in 21 of 25 (84%) surgeries whose corresponding preoperative MRI had shown contrast enhancement. In 14 of 27 (51.8%) surgical procedures SF was considered "helpful"; in two of 27 (7.4%) not "helpful"; in seven of 27 (25.9%) "not essential." In four of 27 (14.8%) data were unavailable. No adverse effect to SF was registered., Conclusions: SF could be considered a valid and safe tool to improve visualization of tumors enhancing at preoperative MRI also in pediatric patients. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm these preliminary data.

Introduction: Sodium fluorescein (SF) is a green, water-soluble dye with the capacity to accumulate in cerebral areas as a result of damaged blood-brain barrier (BBB); this property allows SF to concentrate specifically at the tumor site of various types of brain neoplasms, making the tumor tissue more clearly visible., Evidence Acquisition: A literature search (1947-2018) was conducted with the keywords "fluorescein neurosurgery," "YELLOW neurosurgery," "fluorescein brain tumor," "YELLOW brain tumor." We included clinical studies, clinical trials, observational studies, only conducted on humans and concerning surgery; in addition, we have included 3 articles derived from the analysis of the references of other papers. Ultimately, 57 articles were included for further analysis., Evidence Synthesis: Fluorescein as a fluorescent tracer in neuro-oncology is gaining a wider acceptance in the neurosurgical literature: until February 1st, 2018, at least 1099 neuro-oncological patients have been operated through fluorescein-assistance, mostly only after 2012. The most important application remains the aim to improve tumor visualization and extent of resection for high-grade gliomas (HGG), but the nonspecific mechanism of action is the theoretical base for its use also for tumors different from HGG. Nevertheless, no homogenous protocol of fluorescein utilization in neurosurgical oncology can be found in literature., Conclusions: Fluorescein-guided surgery is a safe and effective technique to improve visualization and resection of different CNS tumors and conditions, based on BBB alteration, with a growing evidence-based background.

Background: This study aims to assess surgical outcome in brain tumor surgery using patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and to compare their results with traditional clinical outcome measurements., Method: Neuro-oncological patients undergoing surgical removal for the lesion were enrolled; MOCA test, PROMs (EUROHIS-QoL, PGWB-S, WHODAS-12), and the clinical scale Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) were administered to evaluate respectively cognitive status, quality of life, well-being, disability, and functional status before surgery and at 3-month follow-up. Wilcoxon test was performed to evaluate the longitudinal change of test scores, the smallest detectable difference to classify the change of patients in PROMs, the Cohen kappa to investigate the concordance between KPS and PROMs in classifying the patients' change, and Mann-Whitney U test to compare patients with complications and no complications., Results: A total of 101 patients were enrolled (54 woman, mean age 50.2 ± 14.1, range 20-85): psychological well-being improved at follow-up; 95 patients (94.1%) were improved/unchanged and 6 (5.9%) were worsened according to PROMs; functional status measured with KPS had a slight agreement with quality of life and disability and no agreement with psychological well-being questionnaires; patients with complications had a greater worsening in KPS., Conclusions: According to PROMs measuring QoL, disability, and psychological well-being, most of the patients were improved/unchanged after surgery. Since PROMs and KPS detect different aspects of the patients' health status, PROMs should be integrated in surgical outcome evaluation. Furthermore, their association with complications and with other clinical and subjective variables that could influence patient's perception of health status should be investigated.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) represents the most aggressive malignant brain tumor in adults, with a risible median life expectancy despite gold standard treatment. Novel drug-delivery methods have been explored. Here we evaluated the possibility to use mononuclear cells (MCs) belonging to the monocytic-dendritic lineage as drug-carrier., Methods: MCs were obtained from 10 patients harboring a GBM, and from healthy volunteers, considered as controls. GBM tissue was also obtained from patients. MCs were cultured and the adherent population on fibronectin (FN-MCs), after immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry characterization, was loaded with Paclitaxel (FN-MCs-PTX). Antiproliferative and migration activity of FN-MCs-PTX was evaluated in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) co-culture assays with red fluorescent U87 Malignant Glioma cells and primary GBM cells. Antiangiogenic properties of FN-MCs-PTX were tested on cultures with endothelial cells., Results: Phenotypical characterization showed a high expression of monocytic-dendritic markers in GBM cells and FN-MCs. FN-MCs demonstrated to effectively uptake PTX and to strongly inhibit GBM growth in vitro (P <0.01). Moreover, tumor-induced migration of MCs, although partially affected by the PTX cargo, remained statistically significant when compared with unprimed cells and this was confirmed in a 3D Matrigel model (P <0.01) and in a Trans-well assay (P <0.01). FN-MCs-PTX also disclosed considerable antiangiogenic properties., Discussion: Our results suggest that the fibronectin-adherent population of MCs isolated from peripheral blood can be an effective tool to inhibit GBM growth. Given the relative facility to obtain such cells and the short time needed for their culture and drug loading this approach may have potential as an adjuvant therapy for GBM., (Copyright © 2017 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We presented the first example of Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) and radioluminescence imaging (RLI) of human tumor specimens. A patient with a brain meningioma localized in the left parietal region was injected with 166 MBq of 90Y-DOTATOC the day before neurosurgery. The specimens of the tumor removed during surgery were imaged using both CLI and RLI using an optical imager prototype developed in our laboratory. The system is based on a cooled electron multiplied charge coupled device coupled with an f ∕0.95 17-mm C-mount lens. We showed for the first time the possibility of obtaining CLI and RLI images of fresh human brain tumor specimens removed during neurosurgery.

OBJECT The Milan Complexity Scale-a new practical grading scale designed to estimate the risk of neurological clinical worsening after performing surgery for tumor removal-is presented. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted on all elective consecutive surgical procedures for tumor resection between January 2012 and December 2014 at the Second Division of Neurosurgery at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta of Milan. A prospective database dedicated to reporting complications and all clinical and radiological data was retrospectively reviewed. The Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) was used to classify each patient's health status. Complications were divided into major and minor and recorded based on etiology and required treatment. A logistic regression model was used to identify possible predictors of clinical worsening after surgery in terms of changes between the preoperative and discharge KPS scores. Statistically significant predictors were rated based on their odds ratios in order to build an ad hoc complexity scale. For each patient, a corresponding total score was calculated, and ANOVA was performed to compare the mean total scores between the improved/unchanged and worsened patients. Relative risk (RR) and chi-square statistics were employed to provide the risk of worsening after surgery for each total score. RESULTS The case series was composed of 746 patients (53.2% female; mean age 51.3 ± 17.1). The most common tumors were meningiomas (28.6%) and glioblastomas (24.1%). The mortality rate was 0.94%, the major complication rate was 9.1%, and the minor complication rate was 32.6%. Of 746 patients, 523 (70.1%) patients improved or remained unchanged, and 223 (29.9%) patients worsened. The following factors were found to be statistically significant predictors of the change in KPS scores: tumor size larger than 4 cm, cranial nerve manipulation, major brain vessel manipulation, posterior fossa location, and eloquent area involvement (Nagelkerke R(2) = 0.286). A grading scale was obtained with scores ranging between 0 and 8. Worsened patients showed mean total scores that were significantly higher than the improved/unchanged scores (3.24 ± 1.55 vs 1.47 ± 1.58; p < 0.001). Finally, a grid was developed to show the risk of worsening after surgery for each total score: scores higher than 3 are suggestive of worse clinical outcome. CONCLUSIONS Through the evaluation of the 5 aforementioned parameters-the Big Five-the Milan Complexity Scale enables neurosurgeons to estimate the risk of a negative clinical course after brain tumor surgery and share these data with the patient. Furthermore, the Milan Complexity Scale could be used for research and educational purposes and better health system management.

Angiosarcoma is a rare vascular malignant neoplasm that mainly occurs in skin and soft tissues. Intracranial localization is very rare and only a few cases have been reported. This report intends to present the clinical, radiological and pathological pictures of a primary central nervous system angiosarcoma along with a review of the literature. A 35-year-old woman presented at our institution with weakness and sensory disturbances of her right hand. Neuroimaging revealed a roughly round, hemorrhagic and moderately enhancing lesion in the left frontal posterior region. The tumor was totally removed under awake anesthesia and continuous monitoring of motor and language functions. Histopathology revealed an epithelioid angiosarcoma. Radical removal, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy, is able to completely control the disease for a relatively long period., (© 2014 Japanese Society of Neuropathology.)

Fluorescein is widely used as a fluorescent tracer for many applications. Its capacity to accumulate in cerebral areas where there has been blood-brain barrier damage makes it particularly suitable as a dye for the intraoperative visualization of malignant gliomas (MGs). In this report, we describe the results of a comprehensive review on the use of fluorescein in the surgical treatment of MGs. A comprehensive literature search and review for English-written articles concerning the use of fluorescein in the resection of MGs has been conducted. The search was executed through a PubMed literature search using the following keywords: malignant gliomas, glioblastomas, high-grade gliomas, YELLOW 560, total removal, dedicated filter, neurosurgery, brain tumors, intracranial tumors, and confocal microscopy. The literature search resulted in the retrieval of 412 evidence-based articles. Of these, 17 were found to be strictly related to the resection of MG with the aid of fluorescein. In addition to these 17, we have included 2 articles derived from a personal database of the corresponding author (FA). The analysis of the articles reviewed revealed three major applications of fluorescein during surgery for MGs that was documented: Fluorescein-guided resection of MGs with white-light illumination, fluorescein-guided resection of MGs with a surgical microscope equipped with a dedicated filter for fluorescein, and confocal microscopy for intraoperative histopathological analysis on MGs. The systemic review conducted on the use of fluorescein in MGs explored the applications and the different modalities in which fluorescein has been used. The data we have gathered indicates that fluorescein-guided surgery is a safe, effective, and convenient technique to achieve a high rate of total removal in MGs. Further prospective comparative trials, however, are still necessary to prove the impact of fluorescein-guided surgery on both progression-free survival and overall survival.

Object: Fluorescein, a dye that is widely used as a fluorescent tracer, accumulates in cerebral areas where the blood-brain barrier is damaged. This quality makes it an ideal dye for the intraoperative visualization of high-grade gliomas (HGGs). The authors report their experience with a new fluorescein-guided technique for the resection of HGGs using a dedicated filter on the surgical microscope., Methods: The authors initiated a prospective Phase II trial (FLUOGLIO) in September 2011 with the objective of evaluating the safety of fluorescein-guided surgery for HGGs and obtaining preliminary evidence regarding its efficacy for this purpose. To be eligible for participation in the study, a patient had to have suspected HGG amenable to complete resection of the contrast-enhancing area. The present report is based on the analysis of the short- and long-term results in 20 consecutive patients with HGGs (age range 45-74 years), enrolled in the study since September 2011. In all cases fluorescein (5-10 mg/kg) was injected intravenously after intubation. Tumor resection was performed with microsurgical technique and fluorescence visualization by means of BLUE 400 or YELLOW 560 filters on a Pentero microscope., Results: The median preoperative tumor volume was 30.3 cm(3) (range 2.4-87.8 cm(3)). There were no adverse reactions related to fluorescein administration. Complete removal of contrast-enhanced tumor was achieved in 80% of the patients. The median duration of follow-up was 10 months. The 6-months progression-free survival rate was 71.4% and the median survival was 11 months., Conclusions: Analysis of these 20 cases suggested that fluorescein-guided technique with a dedicated filter on the surgical microscope is safe and allows a high rate of complete resection of contrast-enhanced tumor as determined on early postoperative MRI. Clinical trial registration no.: 2011-002527-18 (EudraCT).

Background: The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary results of QoL, well-being, disability, and coping strategies of patients before neurosurgical procedure., Methods: We analysed data on preoperative quality of life (EUROHIS-QoL), disability (WHODAS-II), well-being (PGWB-S), coping strategies (Brief COPE), and functional status (KPS score) of a sample of patients with brain tumours and cerebrovascular and spinal degenerative disease admitted to Neurological Institute Carlo Besta. Statistical analysis was performed to illustrate the distribution of sociodemographic and clinical data, to compare mean test scores to the respective normative samples, and to investigate the differences between diagnoses, the correlation between tests, and the predictive power of sociodemographic and clinical variables of QoL., Results: 198 patients were included in the study. PGWB-S and EUROHIS-QoL scores were significantly lower than normative population. Patients with spinal diseases reported higher scores in WHODAS-II compared with oncological and cerebrovascular groups. Finally sociodemographic and clinical variables were significant predictors of EUROHIS-QoL, in particular PGWB-S and WHODAS-II., Conclusion: Our preliminary results show that preoperatory period is critical and the evaluation of coping strategies, quality of life, disability, and well-being is useful to plan tailored intervention and for a better management of each patient.

Background: Fluorescein is widely used as a fluorescent tracer for many applications. Its capability to accumulate in cerebral areas with blood-brain barrier damage makes it an ideal dye for intraoperative visualization of malignant gliomas (MG). We report our preliminary experience in fluorescein-guided removal of grade IV gliomas using a dedicated filter on the surgical microscope., Methods: In September 2011 we started a prospective phase II trial (FLUOGLIO) to evaluate the safety and obtain initial indications about the efficacy of fluorescein-guided surgery for MG. Patients with suspected MG amenable to complete resection of contrast-enhancing areas were eligible to participate in this study. This report is based on a preliminary analysis of the results of 12 patients with grade IV gliomas out of 15 consecutive cases (age range 48-72 years) enrolled since September 2011. Fluorescein was injected intravenously (i.v.) after intubation (5-10 mg/kg). The tumor was removed using a microsurgical technique and fluorescence visualization by BLU 400 or YELLOW 560 filters on a Pentero microscope (Carl Zeiss, Germany). The study was approved by our ethics committee and registered on the European Regulatory Authorities website (EudraCT no. 2011-002527-18)., Results: Histological analysis confirmed grade IV gliomas in 12/15 cases. Median preoperative tumor volume was 33.15 cm(3) (9.6-87.8 cm(3)). No adverse reaction related to the administration of fluorescein was registered. Contrast-enhanced tumor was completely removed in 75 % of the patients., Conclusion: This preliminary analysis suggested that the use of intravenous fluorescein during surgery on grade IV gliomas is safe and allows a high rate of complete resection of contrast-enhanced tumor at the early postoperative MRI.

During the past decades, medical applications of virtual reality technology have been developing rapidly, ranging from a research curiosity to a commercially and clinically important area of medical informatics and technology. With the aid of new technologies, the user is able to process large amounts of data sets to create accurate and almost realistic reconstructions of anatomic structures and related pathologies. As a result, a 3-diensional (3-D) representation is obtained, and surgeons can explore the brain for planning or training. Further improvement such as a feedback system increases the interaction between users and models by creating a virtual environment. Its use for advanced 3-D planning in neurosurgery is described. Different systems of medical image volume rendering have been used and analyzed for advanced 3-D planning: 1 is a commercial "ready-to-go" system (Dextroscope, Bracco, Volume Interaction, Singapore), whereas the others are open-source-based software (3-D Slicer, FSL, and FreesSurfer). Different neurosurgeons at our institution experienced how advanced 3-D planning before surgery allowed them to facilitate and increase their understanding of the complex anatomic and pathological relationships of the lesion. They all agreed that the preoperative experience of virtually planning the approach was helpful during the operative procedure. Virtual reality for advanced 3-D planning in neurosurgery has achieved considerable realism as a result of the available processing power of modern computers. Although it has been found useful to facilitate the understanding of complex anatomic relationships, further effort is needed to increase the quality of the interaction between the user and the model.

Object: Hemangiopericytomas are rare tumors that behave aggressively with a high rate of local recurrence and distant metastases. With the aim of determining the outcome and response to various treatment modalities, a series of 39 patients who underwent microsurgical resection for primary meningeal hemangiopericytoma over a 24-year period is presented., Methods: Patients with hemangiopericytoma were identified from histopathology records and their medical records were analyzed retrospectively by 2 independent reviewers to collect data on surgical treatment, adjuvant therapy, postoperative course, local or distant recurrence, and follow-up., Results: Of the 39 patients, 19 were male and 20 were female. Mean patient age was 44.1 years. Thirty-four tumors were intracranial and 5 were spinal. The mean follow-up period was 123 months. Twenty-eight patients developed local recurrence. The recurrence rate at 1, 5, and 15 years was 3.5%, 46%, and 92%, respectively. Extraneural metastasis occurred in 8 patients (26%) at an average of 123 months after initial surgery. Recurrences and metastases were treated by surgical excision, external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), chemotherapy, and/or stereotactic radiosurgery. Adjuvant EBRT following initial surgery was found to extend the disease-free interval from 154 months to 254 months, although it did not prevent the development of metastasis. In those patients with EBRT and complete resection, the mean recurrence-free interval was found to be 126.3 months longer (p = 0.04) and overall survival 126 months longer than without EBRT. Furthermore, adjusting for resection, patients undergoing EBRT had 0.33 times increased risk of recurrence compared with those who did not (p = 0.03). A majority of patients remained able to live independently despite revision surgery for recurrence., Conclusions: The mean follow-up of this patient series represents the longest follow-up duration published to date and demonstrates extended survival in a significant number of patients with hemangiopericytoma. Gross-total resection followed by adjuvant EBRT provides patients with the highest probability of an increased recurrence-free interval and overall survival. Prolonged survival justifies long-term follow-up and aggressive treatment of initial, recurrent, and metastatic disease.